


Dust and Sunlight

by mr_quartermaster



Category: James Bond (Classic movies), James Bond (Craig movies), James Bond (Movies), James Bond - All Media Types
Genre: 00Q - Freeform, 00Q Reverse Big Bang Challenge 2020-2021, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Medieval, Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Knight!James, M/M, Slow Burn, Sorcerer!Q
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-30
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-03-16 22:00:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 38,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29089452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mr_quartermaster/pseuds/mr_quartermaster
Summary: Royalty, lords and ladies, soldiers and sorcerers, all the citizens from the kingdom of Vauxhall gathered for their annual Prosperity Feast. But there’s evil lurking in the dark, threatening to steal Queen Olivia’s crown and subjugate the kingdom. Sir Bond, the most loyal protector of the Crown, and Q, one of the most powerful sorcerers in the land will have to join forces to save their kingdom from destruction.Written for the 2020-2021 00Q RBB and inspired by the beautiful art of @ksansart "Between dust and sunlight, can I steal a moment of your time?"
Relationships: James Bond/Q
Comments: 2
Kudos: 33
Collections: 2020-2021 00Q Reverse Big Bang





	1. Early Meetings

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MrKsan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrKsan/gifts).
  * Inspired by ["Between dust and sunlight, can I steal a moment of your time?"](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/752073) by Ksan. 



[Artwork by Ksan](https://ksansart.tumblr.com/post/641762662859063296/dust-and-sunlight-by-mrquartermaster-royalty)

_“Between dust and sunlight,_

_Vauxhall’s bond shall unite_

_in soul to the changeling_

_to become the realm’s last hope.”_

_In the beginning, prophecies ruled the land. Before borders or even laws came to be Fleming’s Book of Prophecies already lived in every scholar’s and erudite’s shelves. Everyone knew that the prophecies were never wrong. One way or another, twenty or a hundred years later, they were always fulfilled. However, as time passed and the same scholars who used to obsess over them turned to other fields, focusing less and less on them, they started vanishing into oblivion until they became nothing but fairytales._

* * *

The Prosperity Feast was one of the oldest festivals in the longstanding tradition of the ancient kingdom of Vauxhall. Every year, thousands of people from all across the realm gathered in the capital to celebrate the arrival of autumn and to pray for the prosperity of their harvests and their cattle. There were games for children and adults alike, music, shows and enormous feasts provided by the reigning house.

That year, just like every other, Queen Olivia —or how a couple of her closest courtiers were allowed to call her, M, short for ‘Your Majesty’— found herself in her chambers, discussing the last few arrangements for that night’s celebration with her closest advisor, Sir William Tanner. In there with them was Quentin, a young, bespectacled man who had, for a couple years now, served as the court’s sorcerer, sworn to protect the kingdom from all magical and non-magical threats.

“How many people do we have inside the citadel?” She asked, her words sharp and devoid of any sort of excitement that could’ve derived from the special date. It was all protocol for her, a sort of ritual to be carried out carefully and almost religiously every year, ever since she had been crowned Queen of Vauxhall after her father’s death when she was very young.

“The guards at the gates have reported two-hundred thousand so far, Your Majesty.” Her adviser, Sir Tanner was quick to reply, a proud smile on his face while he stood straight in front of his beloved Queen, wearing his finest robes for the feast. He had been at her service for the longest time, going from being part of her guard to serving as her counselor after an injury in the battlefield that left him in no condition to fight again. Tanner had come at the right time to replace the Queen’s previous advisor, an old man with good intentions but decaying wit.

“We should, however, expect at least another hundred thousand by tonight. I’ve seen them coming, M.”

Right next to Tanner, stood Quentin, dressed in a beautiful, sleeveless emerald green overcoat with golden details embroidered around the stiff collar and shoulders, which stuck out an inch or two. Underneath it, he wore a white cotton shirt with wide, long sleeves, adorned just like the overcoat, with intricate ancient celtic symbols in gold around the loose cuffs. The belt tied up around his waist matched the embroideries, with thick, long bands hanging in front and behind him, and stopping right above his knee. But it was the ash colored breeches and the dark brown leather boots he wore, that contrasted with the bright hues of his ceremonial attire and made him look perhaps a bit older than he really was.

He clearly stood out amongst the rest of the courtiers, having about him an air of mystery and timeless wisdom despite his young age, not to mention demanding respect from anyone who met him. After all, he had earned the admiration of the Queen herself and that was something. The same reason why she allowed him to call her ‘M’ and not ‘Your Majesty’ like everyone else did. Only him and the Commander of the Queen’s Guard were allowed to do that, but the latter had earned that privilege through years of service and battles fought in her name rather than admiration for his innate abilities to see the future, conjure incantations or make incredibly sarcastic remarks.

“Thank you, Q. Oh, and please, do remember to keep the skies clear for tonight. I don’t want the rain to interrupt the celebrations like last year.”

In return, the sovereign called the young sorcerer ‘Q’, reducing his name to one simple, but meaningful letter.

“Of course, I shall make sure of that.” The raven-haired man offered her a small smile and a polite nod, holding his wrists behind his back while a light blush spread across his pale cheeks.

“Sir Tanner?”

“Your Majesty?”

Her advisor jumped to reply, his incredibly complicated and bright orange garments flailing around as he moved. Even Q had to avert his gaze and bite his lower lip hard to stop himself from snickering at the poor man who seemed to always try so hard to be liked by their stoic Queen.

M looked at him in disenchantment for a moment before taking a deep breath and shaking her head. “Would you please have Commander Bond join us?”

_The things she had to put up with..._

Within a second of nodding and replying positively, Tanner had disappeared out the door. Q turned to the older woman —who wore a beautiful, long violet gown that just begged to have everyone’s eyes on it, but remained as modest as a sovereign’s clothes should be— and tilted his head to the side, his muddy green eyes narrowing and clouding with a sort of uneasiness that did not belong in them.

“There is something in your mind. Something that’s bothering you.” The young man pointed out without hesitation.

One of the first ways in which his abilities had manifested when he was just a child, had been through visions of the future and by allowing him to read the minds of others, merely glimpses and only possible outcomes, for nothing was certain, but after years of practice, he had gotten extremely good at picking up even the smallest of things.

M looked up at him tentatively for a moment or two before she finally shook her head. “I’m just being a silly old woman.” She scoffed dismissively, making Q shake his head and step closer to her.

“Nonsense, what is it?” He asked quietly, reaching to set a hand on her arm.

She moved away from him to avoid the young man’s touch. “I have a bad feeling, that’s all.”

Just as the sorcerer was about to ask her another question to try and find out what she was really hiding from him, the door swung open behind them and both Tanner and the Commander of the Queen’s Guard stepped into the room, interrupting their conversation. M cleared her throat and gave the young man a look that clearly meant ‘don’t you dare say a word’.

“Sir Bond.”

“M.”

Their greetings were as short lived as a breath and contained about as much enthusiasm as any given condolences. James Bond wasn’t as young a man as Quentin was, he was much closer in age to Tanner, but had a much grander demeanor. Just like the Queen’s sorcerer, he commanded everyone’s attention when he walked into a room, but for entirely different reasons.

Bond walked around with a golden hilted sword sheathed in a beautiful turquoise blue scabbard, tipped and decorated with the same precious metal. The scabbard, of course, matched his impeccable uniform, which he wore proudly, always walking with his head high and his chest puffed up, so much so that Q liked to laugh at him behind his back and call him the ‘cock’ of the court.

At times it was hard to tell who was more childish out of the two of them. However, one out of the two was better at concealing it, and it wasn’t Bond. When he wasn’t on duty, he could often be found in the castle’s buttery, draining their ale supply, or at one of the taverns in town, probably surrounded by both men and women alike, laughing the night away with another member of the Queen’s guard; Alec Trevelyan.

The two of them were inseparable, as thick as thieves and the best protectors of the realm, but probably its biggest threat when they were up to no good. Q was convinced those two were the reason why M’s hair had gone gray, instead of her age. The Queen spent so much time scolding them and threatening to strip the two of their titles and their land if they continued to disobey her, but it was like talking to a brick wall and expecting it to listen.

“Leave us alone.”

M pulled Q out of his thoughts, forcing him to drag his muddy green eyes away from the blond guard standing in front of the Queen and look at the old woman addressing him and Tanner.

“Wha—”

“Of course, Your Majesty.”

Q was about to question the woman’s order, but Tanner beat him to it and instead replied positively, bowing deeply before he took a hold of the bespectacled sorcerer’s arm and gently led him out of the room, leaving Bond alone with the Queen. 

The guard, who was by all means an anointed knight and should’ve behaved as such in the presence of his Queen, stood at ease now that the two of them were alone, lazily cocking his head to the side and arching an eyebrow. “What is it, M?”

“I want you to keep an eye on him throughout the festival.”

“Him?”

“Q.”

James spared a glance towards the door before he returned his full attention to M, narrowing his electric blue eyes and resting his left hand on the golden hilt of his sword while he rolled his shoulders. “You think he’s up to something?” He asked slowly, lowering his voice in case the raven-haired sorcerer was still outside.

He had never given him any reasons to suspect him of anything, much less treason, he doubted the young man had it in him, but if M thought something was wrong with him, James knew better than to not trust her judgement. He had been at her service for long enough to know that she never got things like that wrong.

The Queen looked at him for the longest time, as if searching for an answer in James’ crystalline hues before she finally looked away, out the window, and shook her head slowly. She lowered her delicate and wrinkled hands, resting them on the cold stone windowsill while she set her gaze on the crowds gathering outside the castle in the citadel.

“No, not him. And I am not sure who either.” She finally spoke, leaving the blond man even more confused than he already was before.

“So you want me to…”

“Protect him. Make sure he’s safe tonight.” She stated clearly before turning around to face him and stepping closer to the soldier. “But don’t let him find out.”

James took a deep breath and nodded, parting his lips to speak again. “M, with all due respect, I am the Commander of the _Queen’s_ guard. Not the _Court Sorcerer’s_ guard. It’s my responsibility to keep you safe, not him. Make Alec do it, he’s capable enough and it’s not like I need him around to do my job. He’s more of a distraction than anything else.”

“Bond.”

“M.”

She sighed in frustration, pinching the bridge of her nose. “No. Trevelyan will stay with me and you will go with him. That’s an order.” She added the last part before he could even question her again.

Bond was perhaps the only person in the entire kingdom who was stupid enough to engage in an argument with the Queen herself, but usually he ended up getting his own way, something that annoyed everyone in the court. Not this time though. It seemed like this time whatever had M in that state was much more important than James’ temper tantrum.

“Fine.” He murmured, looking down at his laced, brown leather boots. “Anything else, _Your Majesty_?”

“That will be it. Thank you, Commander. Oh and… if you see Trevelyan, send him my way.”

He glanced up at her and nodded before bowing and turning around to head out of her chambers. The heels of his boots clicked with every firm step that he took down the enormous Great Hall, where the largest of the feasts was to be held that night. The tables were being set by a multitude of servants who observed James curiously out of the corner of their eyes while they continued to work.

Alec was just outside the Great Hall, in one of the courtyards. He was leaning against one of the large stone columns that supported the structure, while he talked to one of the lady's maids. It wasn’t rare to find the other blond guard like that, doing anything but what he was supposed to be doing, which was looking after the Queen’s safety. He was just as good a swordsman as James, but his mind had never quite been in the right place. He preferred to focus on the fun and privileges that surrounded his position rather than his duties. And who could blame him when he had grown up as an orphan in the far fields, East of the capital, deprived of any riches or privileges unlike the rest of the people in that castle? It wasn’t until he proved himself worthy in battle as a simple foot soldier that he was allowed to begin climbing all the way to the top, where he found himself now.

James sighed and shook his head in disappointment when he saw him, taking off one of his heavy gloves only to toss it at the rascal of a friend that he had, hitting him right on the face.

“What the—”

Alec caught the glove after it hit him hard and immediately looked up to see who had thrown it, only to find his best friend standing there with a smug smirk on his face. “Idiot.”

“I agree, you are an idiot.”

Bond approached him slowly and caught his leather glove single handedly when Alec threw it back at him, right before it could hit him. He turned towards the younger woman the guard had been talking to and offered her a warm smile. “I need to talk to him. Would you give us a moment?”

She nodded, allowing a nervous giggle to escape her lips as she hurried to scuttle away before anyone else could see that she had abandoned her work to go talk to the handsome blond guard that had lured her out of her lady’s chamber in the middle of the morning.

“Thank you very much.”Alec sighed sarcastically as he watched her go, turning back towards Bond only when she had disappeared from his sight. “What do you want, James?”

“No need to be so bitter, I’m sure another one will fall into your trap soon enough.” The Commander of the Guard smirked, fiddling with the stitches of his glove before sliding it back on.

“Very funny.”

“I know. Anyway, it’s not what I want. It’s what _she_ wants. M has decided that she wants _you_ by her side tonight.”

Trevelyan furrowed his eyebrows deeply in confusion and cocked his head to the side. “Why? I mean... she always wants you there and no one else. Do you have any idea of how annoying that is?”

James took a deep breath and shrugged lightly. “She wants me keeping an eye on Q.”

“What did he do now?”

“Nothing that I know of, but she didn’t say much.”

Alec raised his eyebrows and nodded with a newly-gained interest in the subject. “Well, good luck with that. Try not to argue too much and get yourself cursed like last time.” He couldn’t help but chuckle as the image of James covered in an awful blue rash after the last time he had had an argument with Q over a broken staff popped up in his mind.

“Yeah, yeah.” Bond just rolled his eyes. “You should go now or you will be the one in trouble.”

“Go?”

“To see M. Did I not mention she wanted to see you?”

“Oh, you bloody—” Alec couldn’t even finish that sentence, for he was already running down the hallway towards M’s chambers, leaving behind a triumphant Bond with a bright grin on his face.

“Good luck!” He called half-heartedly before laughing to himself.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This work was also inspired by and contains references to many myths (Merlin) and great works of literature, such as those of Ursula K. Le Guin.


	2. The Rider at Dawn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He pivoted on his right foot and in one swift movement, the rider unsheathed his sword from its scabbard, baring the shiny steel to the dim grey light of the early morning.
> 
> “Who goes there?”

* * *

_ One year later... _

The rider jumped off his beautiful blue roan horse with ease and looked left and right while he petted the majestic creature’s dark mane, making sure he was alone and no one was watching from in between the trees before he crouched down in front of the clear flowing river, one of the last remaining few in the kingdom. Sliding off his brown leather gloves, he cupped his hands and collected some fresh water in them, slowly bringing them up to his dry lips and taking a few sips before he used the rest of the cold water to splash his face with it and refresh himself. The hooded rider took a deep breath and let it out slowly, watching his breath condensate in the cold, late autumn air and turn into fog.

Slowly, he raised to his feet and retrieved his canteen from the horse’s brown leather saddlebag. He filled it up with fresh water from the river and wetted the padding around it to keep it cool while he traveled before sealing it with a thick cork and returning the canteen to its leather pouch. Just as he was securing it, he heard the sound of a branch breaking behind him and immediately, his right hand went to the sword resting against his left hip.

He pivoted on his right foot and in one swift movement, the rider unsheathed his sword from its scabbard, baring the shiny steel to the dim grey light of the early morning.

“Who goes there?”

His question went unanswered, only the birds surrounding him in the thick woods chirped and sang their songs peacefully. He pushed back his scarlet hood with his left hand to be able to have a wider field of vision, pressing his back to his horse as the beast grew anxious and neighed nervously.

“Aston, shhh…”

He pressed his calloused hand to the horse’s forehead, stroking the stallion’s silver coat to try and get it to calm down while he searched for whoever was hiding in the forest. Hearing dry leaves crunching behind him, he turned right and extended his arm, holding his sword in front of him.

“Show yourself!” He snapped, gritting his teeth as he began to feel his heart race in his chest and his entire body tense in anticipation. He was just about to turn around once again when he heard Aston neigh loudly and saw him rear up forcing the rider to step away from him, leaving the safety of his guarded position. A shadow moved quickly behind him, so fast that he could hardly tell if it was an animal or a person and the next thing he felt was the sharp blade of a dagger pressed firmly against his neck, threatening to slice his throat open.

He raised his hands in defeat, keeping a grip on his sword despite that. He wanted to see if he could stand a chance or if he should surrender and find a better opportunity to fight his attacker.

“I wouldn’t move if I were you.”

_ For God’s sake… _

“Moneypenny.”

“You’re getting slow, Bond.”

The woman standing behind him smirked as she removed the dagger, giving him a playful shove forwards. She sheathed her dagger and pushed back the hood of her juniper green cloak before she approached the frantic horse, reaching out slowly to grab his reins as she let the stallion take a good look at her.

“Easy… easy, boy.”

Her voice was soft and soothing, even for James, whose heart was still beating at a thousand miles per hour after that stunt she had just pulled.

“I thought you were one of… them.” He murmured as he watched her reassure his horse and slowly make him calm down. She had always been so good when it came to taking control of a situation and neutralising it, unlike him, who only knew how to aggravate everything.

“No… not yet, at least.” She looked back at James and left the horse alone to be able to talk to him properly. “Have you had any luck?”

The ex-commander of the Queen’s guard lowered his gaze as he felt his neck to make sure she hadn’t nicked him, and finally shook his head slowly. “No... not yet, at least.” He replied, repeating her words and earning himself a smack on the arm with the horse’s reins.

“What?” He groaned as he sheathed his own sword.

“We do  _ not _ have time for your jokes.”

“And we do for  _ yours _ ?”

_ WHACK! _

“Ow!”

“Shut up and listen, Bond.”

The soldier huffed, rubbing his arm as he arched an eyebrow at her. “Go ahead, then.”

“His forces are heading north, you have to leave these woods as soon as possible. They are no longer safe.”

The colour seemed to fade from Bond’s face after receiving the fatidic news. He had spent the last three months living in that forest, using its roads to travel and just considering it a sort of safe haven in the midst of all the chaos that reigned in the kingdom nowadays. But apparently, with the forces of evil moving towards them, that forest would not remain safe for too long.

“What about the Rebellion?” He slid his gloves back on to shield his hands from the cold as he posed the question to the young woman, who was currently retying her multiple braids into a small bun on the back of her head to be able to pull her dark hood over her head once again and hide her face. 

“We will be heading East tonight.”

“I’ll go with you then.”

“No.”

Moneypenny’s response was firm enough to startle James, which was certainly something that didn’t tend to happen often.

“No?” Being contradicted did not suit him well. At all.

“No. You have to keep looking.”

“I have been looking all over the kingdom for an entire year! He is gone, don’t you get it? He abandoned us! He’s a coward, Eve!”

His voice resounded like the crack of thunder all over the woods, scaring the birds that, up until a moment ago, had been peacefully singing on the branches of the trees surrounding the two of them. Now, they were scattering and flying away from them along with every single creature in the vicinity.

Moneypenny's dark eyes met James’ stormy hues before she let out a soft sigh, shaking her head. “Look, I don’t know what to tell you. But we cannot afford to lose hope right now. That is the only thing we have left.”

“We have our strength and our weapons.” The blond seethed.

“We have children, women and old men, most of them sick. All we know is that we are fighting magic! We don’t even know what kind! We  _ need him _ . It is not a question. Bond, you—”

She was cut off by a horrifying screech coming from the South. Whatever had made that sound was definitely heading their way and extremely fast judging by the pace at which they could hear entire trees cracking and coming down under the weight of whatever that was.

“Quick!” James exclaimed, climbing on top of his horse and reaching down to offer Eve a hand so she could get on top of the animal’s back as well. As soon as the two were riding Aston, the animal neighed and started galloping North as fast as his legs would allow him to go.

Moneypenny wrapped an arm around James’ waist while using the other hand to hold onto the back of the saddle, continuously turning around to check if whatever creature was after them had caught up. She couldn’t see anything except for trees and branches moving behind them, but that might as well have been because of them.

“I think we lost it!” She exclaimed, turning around to look ahead. “Bond, wait!”

The road had suddenly darkened as if the sun had set upon them in a matter of seconds and every ray of daylight had disappeared, turning the forest into a pitch black maze. Aston stopped dead in his tracks and reared up as the shadow spread more and more around them until they could see nothing but darkness.

Silence followed, like every animal in the forest had suddenly run away from the suffocating inky shadow or dropped dead. It was so bad they could hear their own heartbeats and the blood rushing through their ears between the nervous huffs of the horse. Eve unsheathed her dagger carefully and pressed close to James, keeping her eyes wide open while she tried to see something, anything, but it was simply impossible.

Bond, at the same time, gripped the reins tighter, guiding Aston to move in circles so as to not stay still for too long. They were sitting ducks there, just waiting to be devoured by whatever was lurking in the dark.

“Can you see anything?”

“No” Eve breathed out.

A moment passed, then another, and another… Just as they were starting to feel like they might be safe, they began to hear them; the whispers in the dark.

“It’s them.” Eve grit her teeth and tightened her grip on her dagger without even thinking twice about it. She had fought more than once against those that the people in the Rebellion called ‘The Fallen Soldiers of Vauxhall’. They had all belonged to the armies of Vauxhall at one point, been living citizens like the rest of the people in the kingdom until the day of attack, the day in which Vauxhall was lost to the powers of darkness.

Those who had fought valiantly and given their lives for their kingdom had not been granted the privilege of an honourable death. Through the use of dark magic and necromancy, they had been awoken from their so-called eternal rest to serve their new king and help him exert his power. They had no will of their own, no memories and no feelings. They were simply puppets who ‘lived’ only to serve and hunt down those who dared oppose their master.

And in that moment, both James and Moneypenny seemed to be part of that pesky opposition. Trapped in the midst of that magical darkness, the two of them were defenceless against any attacks that might come their way.

“We have to get out of here. Now!” Eve snapped and the blond nodded, deciding that running face first into a tree would be better than waiting to get killed there. He urged on the horse, who started galloping through the darkness as fast as he could.

They could hear the whispers becoming increasingly louder, but by the time they realised they were being led into a trap, it was too late. He heard the sound of an arrow whistling through the air before feeling a sudden sharp pain on his right thigh, where the arrow’s point went through his own leg before lodging itself on his horse’s side, effectively pinning him to the animal. The horse neighed in pain and reared up wildly, knocking Eve off his back and forcing James to hold on tightly.

The woman hit the ground hard and scrambled up to her feet with a soft huff, looking in the dark for the dagger she had dropped. Just as James reached for his own sword, seeing as they had no option but to engage in a fight with an enemy they couldn’t even see, a freezing cold hand gripped his own and pulled it away from the golden grip.

With a pained groan, Bond pulled his left foot out of the stirrup and kicked blindly at the Fallen that was attempting to knock him off the horse. The sky above them was starting to clear, but he couldn’t even begin to see it as a good sign because the first thing he saw when he had some visibility, was at least another fifty Fallen soldiers heading their way, some armed with swords, some with bows and arrows.

“Fuck…” He hissed, focusing on the one clinging to his saddle. He kicked him as hard as he could, but that did him no harm. It wasn’t until James spotted the knife that the soldier carried in his belt that he snatched it and put it through the Fallen’s heart. His glassy white eyes suddenly appeared to crack as if they were made out of glass, he let out a soft hiss and fell back to the ground, before simply turning into dust.

James had been so focused on the soldier’s death, thinking that could’ve been his own best friend, that he didn’t even notice the one on the tree right above him. With a horrible screech, the Fallen jumped on top of James and hit him in the head with the hilt of his sword before falling to the ground, right where the body of his comrade should’ve been if it hadn’t just turned into dust.

Scared, Aston bolted immediately and the last thing Bond saw before he collapsed forward on his horse’s back, with blood pouring down the side of his head was Eve about to face a horde of almost half a hundred Fallen soldiers. 


	3. Omens of Death

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “What was that?” James asked, dropping their previous conversation entirely. The rest of the people around them seemed to be completely oblivious to what was going on, too busy singing, dancing and celebrating like the earth hadn’t just started moving underneath them.

* * *

_ The night of the Prosperity Feast… _

__ James had spent enough time following Q around that night to be able to tell that he was perhaps even more boring than M, a feat which, before that evening, he had thought impossible to achieve. So far, all the young man had done was walk around the citadel while alternating between watching the people surrounding them and the dark night sky above them. At his short age, he expected the sorcerer to at least drink a pint and celebrate like the rest of the kingdom were doing that night, but no, he was as sober as a judge and watching everyone around him with a type of concern that, up until that night, James had thought reserved for those condemned to die.

“That is not very kind, Sir Bond.” Q murmured softly, suddenly stopping and turning around to look at the blond soldier who stood tall behind him, his left hand resting lazily on the golden hilt of his sword.

“Pardon?”

James furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and looked around, trying to figure out what the hell he was going on about. Before Q had even spoken he had been absolutely certain that the bespectacled sorcerer was way too busy concerning himself with other matters to realise that he was being followed.

“You cannot follow people around and call them boring when you don’t even know them.”

“I didn’t say anything… and I am not following you.”

The young sorcerer sighed as he rolled his eyes before quirking an eyebrow at him. “No, perhaps you didn’t say anything. But you most certainly thought about it.”

_ Bugger... _

“That wasn’t very nice either.” Q scolded him, letting a small but mischievous smirk tug at his rosy lips as the look on James’ face changed when he started to realise what was actually going on.

“Stop it.” The blond seethed, his fist clenching around the sword’s grip.

“Stop what?”

There it was again, that innocent look that was so infuriating.

“Whatever it is you are doing. It’s extremely annoying.”

“I’m not doing anything.” The young man shrugged, chuckling softly. Two kids who were running around accidentally bumped into him as they tried to get past.

“Sorry.” One of them apologised, a red haired girl who clutched a ragdoll tightly to her chest. She looked up and her eyes widened in astonishment when she realised who they had just run into. Immediately, the girl nudged the boy who accompanied her, making him look up and apologise as well.

Q offered the two a warm smile and shook his head lightly. “Where are you two headed?”

“To see the fireworks… There will be fireworks, right?” The boy asked hesitantly.

Ever since Q had started serving as the court’s sorcerer, he had organised a fireworks show for the people of Vauxhall on the day of the Prosperity feast. They all loved it and it had now become a yearly tradition which, children and adults alike, looked forward to.

The sorcerer glanced up to see that James had been distracted by Alec when M had walked past with the blond guard in tow. The bespectacled young man looked at the children again and crouched down to be at eye-level with them before showing them the palm of his hand where, using magic, he produced a series of small, but bright and colourful fireworks.

“Wow…” The kids watched in awe at the lights that sparkled right in front of them, on Q’s hand, but before the boy could reach and touch them, the sorcerer passed his other hand over them and quickly transformed the mini-fireworks into two large biscuits with colourful chocolate chips.

“Of course there will be. Run along now,” He said as he handed one to each of them and slowly got up. “Before the town square is filled with people.”

“Thank you!” The two giggled before they scurried away, leaving Q alone just in time for James to wander back to him. 

“Alright then, now that we’ve established that I am indeed, following you, are we going to stay here all night, Q?” The Commander of the Queen’s guard asked disinterestedly. “Or are we actually going to do something interesting?”

“No, I have to—”

Q cut himself off as suddenly, a sequence of flashing images invaded his mind like a murder of crows milling around him and making him lose his balance.

_ The castle on fire. _

_ Women and children screaming. _

_ A violet gown stained with blood. _

_ A scorched ragdoll. _

“Whoa! Easy!” James scoffed, managing to step forwards and catch him just in time before he could fall back and hit his head on the cobble paving. “Have you been drinking without me, Q?” The soldier joked as he helped the raven-haired man straighten up, keeping his arm around his waist in case he lost his balance once again.

Q pressed the heels of his hands to his eyes, groaning softly while he shook his head. “Something’s wrong.”

“Have you been burning juniper wood again?”

“What?”

“You heard me. What are you talking about?” The blond carefully moved Q’s hands away from his eyes to be able to look at them, but the sorcerer just reacted by pushing him away.

“Stop it, I’m serious.”

“Me too. You are acting crazy, Q.”

Just as those last words left the soldier’s mouth, the ground beneath them started shaking. It was a soft movement, but enough for the two of them, who were standing still, to feel it. 

“What was that?” James asked, dropping their previous conversation entirely. The rest of the people around them seemed to be completely oblivious to what was going on, too busy singing, dancing and celebrating like the earth hadn’t just started moving underneath them.

The clear sky above them had suddenly clouded over, storm clouds blocking every beam of moonlight that illuminated the citadel and each star that shone above them. The sky turned from its beautiful midnight blue to a dark ebony shade, as if someone had spilled an inkwell all over it.

_ “What is going on?” _

_ “Just a cloud, dear.” _

_ “Mummy, I’m scared.” _

_ “Papa?” _

_ “It will go away soon.” _

People all over the place were starting to wonder what had just happened, Bond amongst them. He barely had enough time to process it and get used to the dim lighting before he realised that Q was running away from him and towards the castle.

“Brilliant… Wait!”

He ran after him as fast as he could while doing his best no to run into anyone or trip over anything, which would’ve been hard enough if there had been more light than the one provided by the torches hanging from the nearby stone walls.

“Q!”

By the time he caught up with him, the sorcerer had reached the enormous castle doors. “Where is M?” Q asked urgently, turning around to face James and look into his deep blue eyes, his own seeming to have acquired an almost cat-like glow in the darkness of the night.

“M? She’s with Alec, why?” James replied, watching the dark-haired sorcerer in astonishment and concern. “What the hell is going on, Q?”

The earth rumbled beneath them again, and the whole structure of the castle swayed under the weight of an enormous winged shadow that perched itself on top of it. Claws sharp as steel blades wrapped around the tallest tower and dug deeply into the high battlements, crushing them as if they were made out of eggshells.

“Watch out!” James barely managed to push Q out of the way before a loose chunk of stone that fell down from the collapsing tower could crush him. “Is that a—”

A loud roar coming from deep within the beast’s proud, jet black chest had everyone in the citadel dropping low and covering their ears even before it started breathing fire on the people of Vauxhall.

“—A dragon, yes! Do keep up, James!” Q jumped in front of the flames with no hesitation and casted a protective spell to shield the innocent people from the fire. Amazement transformed James’ features as a translucid, water-like shield appeared out of thin air above the sorcerer, growing larger with each passing second. He had seen him use magic around the castle before, but never at that scale.

“Get the people away from here!” Q yelled, turning to the guard only for a moment before looking up at his raised hands again to avoid losing his concentration. Bond nodded and immediately got to work on herding all the people that stood there terrified, away from the dragon. Everyone ran down the stone stairway, heading towards the gates to escape, but James stayed behind and looked around, trying to find his queen. He was well aware of the fact that he had been tasked to protect Q, but after watching him shield the people like that, he figured he could fend for himself well enough without his help.

The blond heard another loud roar and turned up to the sky to see a second scaly-backed dragon soaring the orange-lit sky. He was smaller than the one assaulting the castle, but on his back he carried a black-hooded rider with a staff on his hand, not unlike the one he had seen in Q’s chambers the one time he had dared trespass. The menacing creature landed right before the huge gates, inside the citadel, and withered with fire whoever dared try and escape. Make no mistake, many did out of desperation, thinking they could outrun or outsmart the dragon, but they didn’t even make it past his crimson red talons.

Yellow smoke hissed from the dragon’s nostrils as he slowly lowered his head to the ground, just enough so that the rider could jump off his back. Two soldiers ran towards them, swords drawn and ready to attack, but as soon as they went near them, the hooded figure tapped his staff against the cobblestone and the orange gem it held at the top started to glow. It was brief, lasting only a second or two, but by the time it stopped glowing, the two guards fell dead at the dragon’s paws.

A low rumble rose in the beast’s throat, which sounded very much like a human laughter, and quickly it grew louder and louder until it resounded all over the citadel, reaching James’ ears.

“Alec…”

He had to find him and M before it was too late, but he couldn’t spot the other blond guard amongst the crowd down by the gates. Knowing his friend, they must've been hiding somewhere, he was smarter than to lead M towards the primary exit. There were several tunnels underneath the castle that led out of the citadel, which the members of the guard and common soldiers often used to get away during the night. Alec and James —being part of that group— knew them well and had used them on several occasions. If he had to get someone out of there unnoticed, that was exactly where James would head to. However, to get to the tunnels, they would've had to get to the castle first, where the largest dragon still was. 

Bond turned, but he couldn’t see Q anywhere, and it seemed like neither could the dragon, for it was already climbing off the castle and sniffing around the place for the sorcerer. 

“James!”

He turned to see Alec heading up the stairway with his sword held tightly in his right hand and M doing her best to move quickly in front of him. The long gown and her footwear weren’t helping the old woman at all, but she was doing her very best not to be a burden, not only for the two guards, but for the people in the kingdom, who probably needed more help than she did.

“Bond? Where is Q?” She asked after James rushed to her side and took a hold of her arm to help her get up the stairs faster.

“Somewhere around here.”

“What do you mean  _ somewhere around here _ ? Did I not tell you to keep an eye on him?”

James winced, knowing that if they made it out alive, he would be getting the lecture of his life for abandoning Q to his luck. He could deal with that later, for now, their queen was his main concern. Thanks to the dragon, the main entrance of the castle had collapsed, so the trio headed towards one of the service entrances, having to duck at one point to avoid getting swept by the dragon’s tail.

They made it into the castle, struggling to get over the rubble that now covered most of the castle’s floor, making it nearly impossible to move around. The damage to the structure was so extensive that they could only hope that the spiral staircase leading down to the tunnels hadn’t collapsed as well.

“This way.” James called, pushing aside a boulder that was blocking the narrow passageway that led to the stairway located behind the kitchen.

Alec urged M to go ahead and stopped right next to his friend. “Get her out of here. I’ll head back, see if I can find Q and help him.”

“No, I’ll do it. M said she wanted you by her side. Finish your job.” James turned to head out, pulling his sword out of its scabbard before the other guard grabbed his arm tightly to stop him.

“We both know that if someone has a chance to get her out of here alive, that’s you.” Alec hissed, gripping Bond’s arm tightly as if that could help change his mind.

“Alec, I am not—”

Before he could even finish that sentence, an explosion blew up half the kitchen, making the entire castle shake and the wall that concealed the staircase cave in. Dust filled James’ lungs as the narrow passageway darkened. He coughed harshly and rubbed his eyes, but he still couldn’t see anything through the thick grey cloud of dust that filled the space.

“Alec!” The soldier called, “Alec, for fuck’s sake! Where are you?”

He heard a soft cough coming from underneath the debris, just a few feet ahead of him. He couldn’t see him, but he knew where he was, so he moved carefully to the source of the sound and started pulling blocks of stone aside while the dust started to settle. When the visibility started getting better, he realised that Alec’s legs were pinned underneath a large section of the wall, rendering him helpless. James crouched down and tried to move the large boulders, but they were far too heavy for just one man, not to mention that by the sound of his friend's pained groans, he could only assume that he was just making things worse.

Panting, Bond wiped his brow with the dirty sleeve of his blue jacket and tried again with all his strength. “Come on, you lazy sob. Help me out.” He grunted through gritted teeth, barely managing to lift it a couple inches before he realised there was someone else there with them.

The sound of boot heels echoed on the floor behind him, filling the ruins of what used to be the kitchen like an omen of death slowly creeping in on them.

“How touching…” The heavily accented voice of a foreigner hummed mockingly behind James, whose eyes immediately went to his sword. The guard jumped to go grab it, but before he could even reach it, an invisible force that felt more like a kick to the stomach shoved him away from both Alec and the sword and knocked the air out of him.

He crashed against the back wall with a muffled grunt and for a moment, the entire room turned blurry. He took his hand to the back of his head and winced softly, noticing the unmistakable feeling of warm fresh blood before he looked up to see that the foreigner was in fact the black hooded, dragon rider he had just seen outside.

“I’m afraid there is no easy way to break this to you, but… this is not going to end well.” The rider winced almost playfully as he pushed his hood back to reveal a pair of dead, shark-like, blue eyes that stared down at James. “I would look away if I were you.”

He flicked his wrist and made Bond’s sword rise from the ground by itself, allowing it to levitate in the middle of the air for a moment or two —much to the guard’s dismay— before he made the sword’s grip fly straight towards his open hand. He wrapped his fingers around it and felt the weight of the steel blade underneath it, a wicked smirk twisting his lips.

“I meant what I said.” He chuckled softly, letting go of his staff, which remained upright on its own, to run a hand through his blond hair —a colour which looked far from natural on him— and push it away from his face.

“Don’t you dare.” James snarled as he started pushing himself to his knees despite just how nauseous he was.

“Sorry, what was that?” The warlock asked, using his magic to push James down and pin him to the ground as he approached Alec slowly, the sound of his steps echoing around the empty castle while the screams of the terrorised citizens of Vauxhall and the growls of the dragons still filled the air outside. “Thought so.”

The Commander of the Queen’s Guard let out a soft grunt as he hit the floor again, the tiny pieces of rubble scattered everywhere scraping against his skin and leaving small scratches. He fought the spell with all his strength, barely managing to raise his head enough to watch as Alec tried desperately to get his legs out from under the debris crushing him while the warlock moved closer and closer to him, stalking his prey.

The foreigner grabbed the heavy sword with both hands and held it high above Alec, finding joy in watching the guard squirm beneath him. Finally, he let go of the blade, but it didn’t fall, not yet. It was suspended in the air, slowly twisting as if the warlock had suddenly had second thoughts. Far from it, he had heard something. A faint sound coming from the staircase on his right.

_ M… _

James cursed under his breath, suddenly feeling the spell that held him down weaken. He took advantage of this and fought against it again, managing to get up to his feet and charge against the warlock while he was distracted by the sound. Not as distracted as he seemed apparently, for as soon as James came within an arm’s length, he turned and grabbed him by the neck.

Bond was a soldier, he had fought many men in his life, but no one like him. No matter what he tried, his magic overpowered his brute strength. No matter how much he kicked him or how many punches he threw, they meant nothing when the warlock could make him feel like his lungs were withering with just a single look. The guard coughed harshly and gasped for breath, tasting blood in his mouth.

“Always a nuisance, aren’t you?” The warlock huffed, taking a hold of the sword with his free hand and plunging it into Alec’s guts mercilessly before he turned his attention to James once again. “I’ll take care of you later.”

He let the soldier fall to the ground next to Alec, who struggled to even draw a deep breath without choking on his own blood, before simply grabbing his staff and walking away from them to head down the staircase.

“M…” Alec managed to get out before he started coughing and pain contorted his features clearly. “She’s… She…”

As much as he tried to get the words out, each one of them was a struggle and each one of them became fainter and fainter than the last one until they were but soft murmurs. James looked down at his friend, pained deeply by the image before him. Despite this, he grabbed the sword and pressed his hand against Alec’s abdomen before he pulled the blade out, immediately applying pressure to the wound itself.

“Fuck! What—What did I... do to you now?”

James ignored him, tearing off part of his shirt and using it to soak up the blood that immediately began gushing out of the wound. “Put pressure on that.” He muttered quietly, focusing on keeping him alive even though he knew his chances were scarce if not nonexistent.

“James…” Alec’s expression was serious once again, knowing that the brief adrenaline rush that the pain had given him would be gone soon enough and he would be fading quickly after that. “M—”

“—I’ll go after her in a minute!” The Commander of the Queen’s guard snapped, trying to get the other guard to just shut up and let him work.

Alec shook his head though, swallowing hard and shutting his eyes tightly for a moment as he did his best to focus on what he was saying and not on the searing pain, courtesy of the wound tearing through his abdomen.

“No… She’s probably… gone already…”

The ghastly realisation that M might be dead already dawned on James like a stone block, threatening to knock him back and making his hands still on top of Alec, who weakly grabbed his wrist to get his attention.

“Get—Get Q… He is the only one who—who stands a chance a-against…”

Bond turned towards the staircase, watching a red light suddenly flash below before slowly dimming and allowing the darkness to return. When he turned back to Alec, he found him gone, crystalline green eyes staring into nothing as a single drop of blood ran down the corner of his mouth and fell to the ground to mix with the dirt.

James swallowed hard as he carefully set Alec’s limp hand back on his chest and rose to his feet shakily. He had seen hundreds of men perish in the battlefield before, but he never thought the day would come in which he would have to see Alec’s life be taken, not like that. Somehow, he had always had the notion that if one of them would die in battle, it would end up being him. He was always the one to take the lead, always the one to sacrifice himself. None of that had mattered in the end. A sword and skills meant nothing when faced with magic, James supposed.

He staggered back and despite Alec’s warning, he walked numbly towards the staircase, keeping a bloodstained hand pressed against the wall for support. His head throbbed, but he grit his teeth and forced himself to ignore it while he moved. The soldier stopped right before he could even set his foot on the first step when he suddenly heard the sound of heavy footsteps heading towards him along with the warlock’s voice speaking softly.

“Just wait until they see their beloved queen at my feet. Oh, the people of Vauxhall will make such fine subjects”

The fact that the man sounded so pleased with himself just seemed sick to James, made him want to pick up his sword and put it right through him, but he knew better than to try that again. If he ended up like Alec, Vauxhall would stand no chance. Alec was right, magic could only be fought with more magic and Q was the only person he knew that could help. 

Bond turned around and walked back to the spot where his sword laid, still stained with his best friend’s blood. He picked up the steel blade and wiped it clean against his trousers before sheathing it and turning to run out of there before the warlock could catch him. The sound of M’s weak voice stopped him though.

“—In your dreams, Silva. Vauxhall will never surrender to an imposter like you.”

She was alive. She was still alive. He could still save her. But Q…

James just stood there, torn between his two options while the warlock just got closer and closer to him. He knew he had to make a decision soon and he was very tempted to go back and try to save the life of the woman who had been like a mother to him since a very young age, but that would make Alec’s death meaningless and that was the one thing that kept him teetering on the edge. He grit his teeth and clenched his fists by his sides, finally turning around and running out of the castle through the servant’s exit.

Half the citadel was enveloped in flames and scorched down to ashes. People could no longer be seen outside, but with each house or workshop he passed, he could see terrified families hiding inside, hoping that neither of the two dragons would decide to set the place on fire. He kept walking, looking around for Q and doing his best not to step on the bodies strewn across the streets of Vauxhall. The scene seemed taken out of the horror stories that his father used to tell him to scare him when he took him camping as a child. A massacre like no other the kingdom had ever seen before, not even when they had been at war with the kingdom of Millbank. They had defeated entire armies with no more than a couple hundred casualties, but now, thanks to one man and two fire-breathing lizards, they had lost more than half their kingdom.

James stopped dead in his tracks when he saw a very familiar, emerald coat laying on the ground amongst the debris. He picked it up and stepped into an empty blacksmith’s to hide while he inspected the singed tunic, carefully tracing over with his thumb, the beautiful golden celtic designs that stood out on the luxurious green fabric. He took a moment to look at them and figure out where the young sorcerer could’ve gone. From the burnt marks and the bloodstains on the coat, he could tell that Q was hurt, otherwise, why would he have taken it off and left it there? The tunic had probably caught on fire and that had been his only option. Well, James could wave goodbye to his only strategic advantage now that Q was no longer wearing any brightly coloured garments that would make him easy to spot.

He tensed as he heard the sound of a dragon roaring behind him, and looked out one of the tiny windows in the workshop. While the crimson beast continued to guard all possible exits and wipe out anyone who dared try to escape, the larger dragon flew in circles over the citadel like a vulture awaiting his next meal, a delicious roasted sorcerer garnished with handmade spectacles. James shuddered at the thought and immediately stepped out of the workshop to continue his search for the court’s sorcerer. He ran quickly through the narrowest of alleys, staying hidden from the dragons and clutching the green tunic in his left hand until he reached the town square, where the warlock M had referred to as Silva stood. The Queen laid nearly almost unconscious and badly hurt at his feet, her violet gown turned ruby red with the amount of blood drenching it.

Bond stopped and leaned against the wall to hide while he watched how the foreign invader forced the old woman down with the tip of his staff.

“This is your Queen!” He yelled, opening his arms and laughing loudly before he gestured down at the broken monarch.

“Look at her. How is she going to defend you when she can’t even defend herself?”

Punctuating his sentence, he kicked the poor woman in the stomach.

“People of Vauxhall, this is not the monarch you deserve. She is weak!” He forced her onto her back, pushing her with his heavy boot. “I promise I will pardon whoever swears allegiance to me. However, those who resist… well, you have seen what my friends can do, have you not?”

Just as he finished, the inky coloured dragon landed behind him, making the earth shake underneath them. The creature let out a low grumble as he lowered his head and closed his eyes, allowing the warlock to rest his hand upon his scaly forehead while white smoke rose from his nostrils. The foreigner smirked and lifted his hand off the creature, waiting until the dragon’s bright yellow eyes were open before he gestured towards the Queen.

“Finish it.” He murmured cruelly, turning around to walk away without even looking back as the dragon lifted his head and inhaled deeply, preparing to breathe fire upon the old woman.

“No!”

Out of nowhere, a child stepped forwards, running towards the fallen Queen in a desperate attempt to help her or put a stop to her imminent death. James realised in dismay that the youngster who now dared challenge the dragon was no other than the one who had been talking to Q earlier, the red-haired girl who held a ragdoll to her chest.

“Stop! Leave her alone!” The girl continued to scream at the warlock even as tears rolled down her cheeks, and knelt down by the Queen, who did her best to usher her away.

The dragon hesitated and looked at his master, growling quietly and baring rows of teeth as sharp as blades. The black-hooded warlock grimaced and nodded before turning around once again. The creature inhaled sharply and without another warning, unleashed a storm of fire upon the two innocent souls in the middle of the town square.

“Silva!”

James knew that voice. He knew perfectly well from who’s throat that pained scream had been torn. He turned around to look for the bespectacled sorcerer until he spotted him, slowly making his way towards the town square. He didn’t look well, at all. He held his left hand against his right side, where the burn mark was on the coat. His previously white and impeccable shirt was torn and stained with blood, which James could only assume belonged to him. His spectacles, of his own making, were cracked and hung crookedly on his nose, hardly useful at all. He looked like one of the dragons had stepped on him and James was barely starting to notice the way in which he limped when he walked. Perhaps he wasn’t wrong after all…

The warlock ignored him at first, but Q called his name again, mustering all of his strength. “Silva!”

“Kill him” The blond warlock snapped, turning around and glaring down at the younger, injured sorcerer.

The dragon prepared to scorch him, just like he did the last time and James watched as Q struggled to cast a protective spell. However, he was too drained and injured to be able to invoke a shield that could cover more than just a third of his body. He wasn’t going to make it. Just as the flames were about to leave the dragon’s mouth, James darted out of his hiding place and ran towards Q, shoving him out of the way of the beast’s firestorm.

The soldier had to put out a small flame on his coat once they two of them were hiding in another alley, with James having to physically restrain Q to keep him from going back out. He had to give it to him, the man was stubborn.

“You are going to get yourself killed!” He hissed, shaking his head. “He is too powerful.”

“The people… I have to help them.” 

“You can’t even help yourself.”

Q went silent, looking down at the ground before his gaze slowly moved towards the square, where the singed ragdoll laid all by itself, just the way he had seen it before, in his vision. He grit his teeth and shook his head. He should’ve been faster, he should’ve known. How had Silva been able to get past him? He was supposed to defend the kingdom and he couldn’t even see two enormous dragons and one of the most powerful warlocks in the land heading their way. 

“Q.” James tried to get his attention when he realised that the young man was shivering. “We have to get you out of here. That is our only chance of being able to fight back. It’s dark, he won’t see us if we head towards the harbour.”

“Alright…”

“Alright.” Bond repeated as he nodded and looked down at the coat he was still holding before offering it to Q. “I think you dropped this.”

The sorcerer looked up at him with wide eyes and slowly reached to take the piece of expensive fabric with his bloody hand. He carefully put the coat back on and tied the belt tightly around his wound to put pressure on it before he nodded at James and the two started moving quickly through the dark streets of Vauxhall.

Q made it about halfway there before his head started spinning and his steps turned into stumbles. James caught him right before he could fall face first on the ground and crouched down to press two fingers to his neck. His pulse was weak. The soldier looked around before returning his eyes to the young man and noticing just how much the bloodstain on his shirt had grown over the last hour.

“Q?” He called softly, gently patting his cheek. “Wake up, come on.” He took his glasses off and threw them away after deeming them useless, making a couple more attempts to wake him up before he decided they had no time to wait around for Q to wake up. The dragons were back in the sky and looking around for any survivors to bring them back to their master.

“If you can hear me, do not curse me for this.”

James slid his arms underneath Q’s light body and picked him up almost effortlessly before he got up and started walking again with the sorcerer in his arms. He moved slower down the streets and alleyways, but little by little, they made their way to the harbour and soon enough they were there. The dragons had burned most of the boats and ships, leaving only a couple fishing boats that they had passed by and missed with their fire. The blond jumped into one and carefully rested the unconscious sorcerer on the floor before he sat down and started rowing in silence along the coast, hoping to reach the edge of the forest soon, where they could lose themselves more easily.

He rowed with his back to Q and facing his ancestral home, which burned brightly under the siege of dark forces, and wondered if truly, they would ever be back to find more than ruins.

As they reached the coast where the thick forest began, James jumped out of the boat and pulled it out of the water, along with Q. They were almost safe. The soldier stopped and turned once again towards the city to see if the dragons were anywhere near them. They were not. It had been an hour or so since the two creatures had gone back to the enormous castle after having their share of kills for the day. There were no more growls, no more screams, no more crying children, only the sound of crickets and the sea gently lapping at his boots as he stood on the grey, coarse sand of Vauxhall.

At last, everything seemed calm.

So calm, that he didn’t even hear when Q woke up and stepped out of the boat.

So calm, that he didn’t even hear him grab one of the oars.

So calm, that he didn’t even see it coming when the weak sorcerer took a swing at his head.

So calm as he hit the sand facefirst and faded into unconsciousness.


	4. The Hermit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The last thing he remembered was being next to Moneypenny in the middle of a fight with a horde of Fallen soldiers, then the arrow that struck him and then… Did someone hit him? They must have, for he didn’t remember anything after that and now he had woken up in what seemed to be a cottage.

* * *

_ The present… _

  
  


_ “James.” _

_ “Leave me alone, Alec.” _

_ “Wake up.” _

_ “Go bother someone else, will you?” _

_ “Wake up.” _

_ James groaned and opened his eyes, only to find himself face to face with a withered version of his deceased best friend. Alec looked down at him, but his eyes were no longer that emerald green hue that men and women all over the kingdom sighed for. A white mist covered them, a sign that he had joined the ranks of the Fallen armies. “What—” _

_ “There is no time to waste.” Alec murmured with a sense of urgency that convinced James to purse his lips and remain silent instead of asking him how he had found him or what he was doing there. _

_ Hell, he hadn’t even taken the time to look around and realise where he was, he was too busy trying to figure out why his dead friend was talking to him when it was a well-known fact that those soldiers who had become part of the Fallen had lost their free will and with it their ability to speak and do more than grunt and grumble. _

_ “You have work to do, but you must hurry, Bond.” _

_ “What are you talking about, Alec?” _

_ “The sorcerer.” He hissed, grabbing James by the jacket and pulling him closer. _

_ “You mean Silva?” _

_ “No, Q!” _

_ James shook his head in confusion, noticing how the soldier’s misty eyes became darker and he glanced over his shoulder as if he could hear someone coming. “What has he got to do with anything?” _

_ “Between dust and sunlight, Vauxhall’s bond shall unite—” _

_ “—What are you talking about?” _

_ “Between dust and sunlight—” _

James woke up with a gasp and sat upright, only to feel how his head started to throb immediately. He let out a soft grunt and took his hand to the back of his head, wincing when he touched a small bump there. He noticed something else though, his head had been carefully bandaged and his wound packed with some paste by someone who clearly knew what they were doing.

He furrowed his eyebrows and lowered his hand, raising his head to look around. He was laying on a rather comfortable bed, something he hadn’t really done in the past year, during which he had spent most of his time camping in the woods and hiding from Silva’s forces. Who had time to look for a comfortable bed when they were running from an army of dead soldiers and looking for a treacherous sorcerer?

He ran his hands over the woolen blankets and sighed softly, lowering his bare feet to the ground only to feel how more pain arrived, on his leg this time, where the arrow had pierced through his thigh. The same  _ someone _ who had taken care of his head had gone through the trouble of taking his boots, his jacket, his breeches and his white linen shirt off, not to mention his baldric and his sword, leaving him only in his underwear. He wasn’t sure whether to be grateful for that or rather alarmed by the fact that he had no idea where his sword had ended up, but when he looked down, he realised the wound on his leg had also been stitched and bandaged by his mysterious savior.

But what had really happened?

The last thing he remembered was being next to Moneypenny in the middle of a fight with a horde of Fallen soldiers, then the arrow that struck him and then… Did someone hit him? They must have, for he didn’t remember anything after that and now he had woken up in what seemed to be a cottage.

“Meow!”

His attention strayed from his lack of remembrance as a large cat jumped on top of the bed and meowed loudly at him, as if demanding he move away from his spot. The blond raised his eyebrows and watched as the striped cat curled into a ball on the pillow where his head had just been resting.

“I take it I’m not exactly welcome here…” James murmured before taking another look around at the cottage he found himself in.

It wasn’t nearly as rustic as he had first perceived it to be, in fact, it was much closer to being a proper home than anything he had seen in the past few months. The entire place, which consisted of a room and what James supposed was a smaller storage space in the back, wasn’t too large. Probably just for one person, judging by the size of the bed he was sitting on. There was a fireplace on one side of the house, which by the looks of it and the temperature of the room, had been burning throughout the entire night. On the opposite side, there was a large desk with all sorts of devices on it: a mortar, sublimation pots, retorts, vessels, a small furnace, a crucible and many other things which James couldn’t even begin to name.

On the floor, on top of a large patterned carpet that covered almost the entire wooden floor of the cottage, rested a large stack of books, all written in different languages and practically begging for the nosy soldier to pick one up. He took another look around and reached for one of the books before hearing the large cat meow behind him again, warning him not to touch anything. The blonde narrowed his eyes at the animal, but quickly gave up on grabbing one of the books when he heard a horse neighing outside.

“Aston!”

James got up slowly and stifled a soft, pained groan, using the edge of the desk for support. He waited a few seconds to regain his balance and for the initial wave of pain to pass before he started walking towards the door on the other side of the cottage. There were only a couple small windows that allowed him to look out, but even as he did, there wasn’t anything out there that could really tell him where he was aside from trees surrounding the small clearing where the cottage was built, but then again, that only told him he was in the middle of a forest. Not very helpful.

He grabbed his shirt and his breeches, followed by his blue coat, which had apparently been washed and hung to dry in front of the fire. Despite the fact that they all should have had at least a few bloodstains on them, they were impeccable, even having been fixed where they were torn or singed. He couldn’t help but be surprised and even a bit suspicious of whoever had brought him into their cottage and tended to his wounds.

The soldier found no traces of his baldric or his sword, but he did find his boots right outside once he opened the door. He pulled them on, leaning against the doorframe for support, and followed the noises of his horse, walking around the cottage until he found himself behind it, staring at a hooded figure that seemed to be taking care of the injury left by the arrow on Aston’s side.

Despite how nervous the horse usually was, he seemed at ease with the stranger, tied to a tree and eating from a feedbag like nothing was going on. James watched for a while, his view of the hooded figure’s hands partially blocked by the stranger’s body. Finally, he stepped forwards, or rather limped forwards.

“Oi!”

The cottage’s hermit didn’t even bother turning around despite raising his head in a clear sign that he had heard James.

“That is my horse you’ve got your hands on. What are you doing to him?”

Again, there was no answer.

The figure continued to ignore him while he petted the horse and whispered something James couldn’t quite understand. The soldier thought nothing of it, at least not until a green glow started to emanate from the hermit’s hand, making him jump back in surprise. The stranger pressed his hand to Aston’s side and the horse raised his head slightly, glancing towards him. Despite this, he gave no signs of being in pain or any sort of discomfort and a second later, he went back to eating.

James, on the other side, knew better than to trust magic.

Even with the injury on his leg, he moved quickly, wrapping his arm around the stranger’s neck and pulling him away from the horse. He could hear how the hermit drew a sharp breath and immediately reached up to hold onto James’ arm for support as he was dragged away. His hood fell back to reveal a much younger face than the one James expected, with a dark mop of hair that fell over his forehead, threatening to cover his eyes, but not enough to prevent the soldier from noticing that particular tone of seafoam green that he had once had the pleasure of seeing everyday back when he worked in the castle. Those bright, pensive and intelligent eyes that hid behind the pair of spectacles that the Queen’s young sorcerer wore like an armour.

“Please let go, Bond.” The raven-haired hermit murmured calmly.

“Q?” James sounded more confused rather than surprised. Q was the last person he expected to be rescued by. “What are you doing?”

“Healing your horse, isn’t it obvious? Now, will you please let go of me?”

The blonde slowly stepped back, wincing. Q turned around to be able to look at him properly now that he was awake. His eyes travelled up and down the wounded soldier and he parted his lips only to murmur softly “You shouldn’t be out here.”

“Pardon?”

“It’s cold. Go back in.” The young man muttered dismissively, turning to the horse once again and pressing his hands against the animal’s ribcage.

“No.” James crossed his arms over his chest and pursed his lips tightly.

Q glanced back at him and rolled his eyes before simply shrugging. “As you wish.”

The green glow returned to his hand while he whispered under his breath in an ancient language James couldn’t understand and reached into his pocket at the same time, pulling a small leather pouch. James watched intently how he pulled some sort of moss out of it and packed the wound on the animal’s side with it.

“What are you doing? It’s going to get infected.” The soldier huffed.

“It won’t. It hasn’t.”

“What do you mean  _ it hasn’t _ ?” James frowned deeply as his look of confusion made a comeback.

The sorcerer sighed and pointed at James’ head. “It is the same thing I have been using to dress your wounds for the past two days.”

“What?” Bond reached up and slid a finger underneath the bandage surrounding his head, feeling how the damp moss matted his blond hair and covered the wound. “Ugh…”

“Don’t touch it.” Q murmured, patting the horse’s neck before stepping away from him. “I’m serious about you not being out here.”

Seeing how stubborn the soldier was, the sorcerer walked over to him and nodded towards the cottage. “You shouldn’t even be walking, you’ll tear those stitches.” Q chided, taking a hold of his arm to lead him back into the cottage.

“What did you do to me?” James asked, removing his boots outside before stepping inside.

“Nothing.” Q murmured quietly, keeping his hand on him to make sure he didn’t lose his balance. “I found you unconscious in the middle of the forest and I brought you here. You must have been out there for at least a day. You looked worse than terrible.”

Once the two were inside, the young man closed the door and moved back towards the fireplace, moving the logs in it with a fire poker to rekindle the flames. When it didn’t work, the sorcerer made a movement with his hand and simply lit the fire once more with the use of magic.

“There we go.” Q hummed to himself, looking up to see how his cat hissed softly at James when he tried to move the animal so he could sit on the bed. “Archimedes, leave him alone.”

The cat looked up at Q and meowed before stretching his back and jumping off the mattress, heading to the back of the cottage.

“Archimedes?”

“What?” Q shrugged. 

“Never mind…” James murmured as he sat down and stretched his leg in front of him. “So this is where you’ve been hiding…”

The sorcerer looked up immediately and frowned deeply. “I am not hiding.”

“Excuse me if I find that hard to believe. I must have gotten it all wrong after you knocked me in the head with an oar.”

Q looked away, seeming ashamed of himself. “Sorry.” He murmured quietly.

“Sorry?” James scoffed, straightening up and looking incredulously at him. “Sorry? What exactly are you sorry about, Q? Hitting me? Abandoning your people to their luck when they needed you the most? Running away like a coward?”

“James—”

“—Alec and M would still be alive if it wasn’t for you. Fuck, the entire kingdom would still be alive if it wasn’t for your ineptitude!”

Q swallowed hard, looking out the window and nodding softly. James watched him expectantly, waiting for him to snap back, to reply, to defend himself, to say something, but he never did. Instead, he grabbed a bag from a hanger on the wall and slung it over his shoulder.

“I have to get food from the village. Try not to hurt yourself more while I am away.” He mumbled, grabbing three small vials from the table and stashing them inside the bag before he pulled his pine green hood over his head and headed out in complete silence.

James watched him walk out and as soon as the sorcerer crossed the door, he started doubting himself, wondering if perhaps he had been too hard on him. But what he had said was true. So many people had perished and James had gone through a whole ordeal to get Q out of the capital just to be rewarded with an oar to the head.

He had woken up the next morning when the (now) second-in-command of the rebellion, Moneypenny, had found him lying alone on the beach, soaked wet and with a concussion that had had his head spinning for days on end. There were no traces of Q, he was completely gone. Despite this, for some reason that he still failed to comprehend, he had agreed to Eve’s proposition of setting off on a quest to find the sorcerer. Even after so long, the people of Vauxhall still believed that Q would help them, they had faith and that was something that not even Silva had managed to take away from them.

A couple hours after he was left alone, snow started falling from the sky, covering the grass outside the cottage like a pristine white blanket and leaving chalky lumps on the branches of the tall pine trees surrounding them. The soldier stood close to the window, fogging up the glass with his warm breath as he waited for the hermit’s return. He paced around the cottage, picked up books he couldn’t understand and looked at the pictures on them as he tried to keep himself entertained. At one point, he even attempted to pet the cat, which led him to follow the brown-furred feline into the other section of the cottage.

Much to his surprise, it wasn't a storage space that hid behind the livingspace, but a library, stacked up with all sorts of books all the way up to the tall ceiling, which had a skylight unlike the rest of the cottage. He looked up and raised his eyebrows in amazement, watching how the snowflakes fell on top of the glass, only to melt a few seconds later. A wooden ladder rested against one wall, making it possible to reach the highest of shelves where the largest books could be found.

“Holy f…”

James turned around and realised that there weren’t just books that were sitting there, but also a few magical objects that he had seen once or twice before in Q’s books when he had been sent to his chambers to retrieve him. He had to admit that back then he had been so curious about the sorcerer’s activities, that he would often try to find out more by looking through his things when he wasn’t watching or simply by observing him discreetly while he practised his craft.

As he looked further down, he spotted the cat, laying down placidly on the bottom shelf, amongst the books. The soldier smiled and shook his head, giving up on petting the cat and deciding to just leave him alone for both their sakes. He took another look up at the falling snow and headed back towards the main room. 

An hour…

Two…

Three…

He grew tired, exhausted in fact. The sorcerer wasn’t coming back anytime soon, as he had come to realise, so he saw no point in waiting up for him. The blond laid down on the bed and curled up under the woolen blankets, watching the flames dancing in the fireplace until he drifted off to sleep.

  
  



	5. The Woods of Duror

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “If you are not running, then why are you all the way here?” He asked quietly, fixing his cold blue eyes on the young man and his familiar.
> 
> “Why are you here?”
> 
> “I already told you. I have been looking for you.”
> 
> Q shrugged lightly, making the cat dig his claws on his shoulders to avoid falling backwards. “Here I am.”

* * *

It was well past midnight when Q returned. He entered the warm cottage, brushing snow off his green cloak before he approached the fire and rubbed his hands together to warm them up. Archimedes was by his side after only a second or two, rubbing his shaggy brown fur against the young sorcerer as he purred loudly.

“Sorry.” Q whispered, scratching behind the cat’s ears. “There was a lot to do in the village.”

The animal looked up at him after sitting down and cocked his head to the side, silently inquiring.

“No, they were raided again. Silva is still looking for me. I think he can… feel me somehow.”

The cat meowed softly and got up, walking towards the bed, where James slept soundly, and rubbing himself against it.

“I don’t think he did. If he had led them towards us, they would have found us already. We are safe. For now. But I suspect we will have to move soon. This place won’t remain a secret for too long.”

Archimedes meowed again, jumping onto the pile of books and then onto the chair behind the desk as Q took his cloak off and hung it along with his bag.

“Maybe North? I don’t know yet. We might have to really leave Vauxhall this time.” Q sighed as he took his glasses off and rubbed his eyes. He put them back on and picked up the cat so he could sit on the chair, letting the feline retake his place on his lap once he was comfortably seated. Archimedes curled up on the sorcerer’s brown breeches and closed his eyes, enjoying the pets he received.

With both the cat and James asleep, the cottage was in complete silence, with the exception of the crackling fire behind him. James’ words from earlier found their way back to the sorcerer like naughty goblins nipping at his heels. Bond was wrong if he thought that Q led a carefree life there, if he thought that he never wished he could go back and change the way he had done things. He was wrong if he thought that he wouldn’t gladly trade his life for M’s. There was a woman who would know what to do. She wouldn’t have hidden like him, she would’ve never been a coward like him. But his own shame had eaten away at the young man since day one, leading him to abandon James outside the citadel and flee. 

The truth remained that Silva was a much more powerful warlock and there was nothing Q could do to help Vauxhall.

He glanced at James on the bed and sighed quietly, watching the way the man’s chest rose and fell steadily as he slept before shaking his head slowly.

He woke the soldier up early in the morning, sitting by the bed and gently shaking his shoulder as he focused on stirring a dense, amber liquid on a small glass. “James.”

“James.”

“James!” He finally snapped, seeing as his last two attempts at waking the blond up gently had failed so far.

The soldier awoke with a start, nearly knocking the glass out of Q’s hands.

“Careful!”

“What?” James mumbled in confusion, rubbing his face and looking around him to find the cat resting on his lap. “What is going on?” He asked sleepily, reaching to push the cat away in order to be able to sit upright.

Archimedes grumbled as he jumped off the bed and walked away from the two men, heading towards the library in the back of the cottage to continue sleeping without being disturbed.

“Drink this.” Q indicated as he handed James the glass containing the thick, honey-like concoction.

“What is this?”

“Just drink it.”

The blonde grimaced and looked at the sorcerer hesitantly. The young man rolled his eyes and pushed his specs up his nose before snatching the glass from James’ fingers and taking a small sip from the brew. “There, see? I am not trying to poison you. It’s your turn now.”

James pulled another face before he grabbed the glass and smelled the contents. “It’s not that bad.” He murmured, causing Q to almost roll his eyes again.

“Just drink it, you enormous child!”

“On it!” The soldier huffed, downing the contents of the glass in one go.

“Slowly!” Q groaned, shaking his head and hurrying to take the glass away from the blond.

“You could have... said that earlier!” James coughed, bringing a hand up to his mouth and resisting the urge to throw up. He felt like he had just swallowed a live frog that was now jumping around in his stomach. “Christ, Q! What the hell was that?”

The sorcerer shook his head and turned away from him momentarily to set the glass on the table. “Just… do your best to keep it in. Let’s take a look at your head.”

“Only if you promise not to rub more of your gross herbs on me.” Bond murmured as he leaned forwards to let Q have a good look at his injury.

“No promises.”

“Of course…” He sighed.

The sorcerer moved to sit on the edge of the bed and carefully began to remove James’ bandages, setting them aside. He glanced down to check the expression on his face occasionally, not wanting to cause him any more pain than necessary. He used a pair of tweezers to carefully remove the moss from his wound, which had soaked up all the blood and worked to properly disinfect the wound.

“Does that hurt?” Q asked quietly.

James simply shook his head softly, keeping his gaze fixed on his lap.

“Let me know if it does.”

Only a couple minutes later, the sorcerer moved back to the chair and nodded. “Done. I should probably check on your leg as well.” He murmured, rubbing the back of his neck after he wiped his hands on a rag. 

The soldier nodded, lowering his feet to the floor and pushing the blankets off his lap. He had already taken his trousers off before going to bed, so the bandages were clearly visible and within reach. Q however, seemed to be struggling to just reach over and set his hands on James’ bare thigh.

“Need help?” The blond asked, quirking an eyebrow.

“Yes, can you just… remove your bandages? I’ll go get more.” Q hurried to get up and turned away from the soldier to conceal the dark blush that had begun to spread across his usually pale cheeks.

He walked over to a trunk sitting close to the entrance and pulled it open to get the bandages. James watched him as he quietly removed the bandages wrapped around his leg and took a look at his stitches. They were perfect, not even the royal medic could’ve done it better and he had been subjected to the handiwork of the royal medic more than once, he knew what he was talking about.

Q turned around and walked back to him, clearing his throat as he set the bandages down on the bed next to James. “I’m just going to...” He gestured down to his leg and bit his lower lip as he hesitantly leaned down to take a good look at his stitches. “Well, they’re not infected.”

“So your moss works.” James teased, a small smirk tugging at his lips.

“Of course it does.” The sorcerer scoffed indignantly, looking up at the soldier and rolling his eyes before he focused on his leg again. He took his hands to his skin and James tensed in response. “Did that hurt?”

“No, you’re just cold. Christ, Q...”

“Pardon me, Your Majesty.” Q replied jokingly as he shook his head and moved back. He wiped the wounds clean with a damp rag and silently prompted James to lie down and bend his knee so he could bandage them again. “Your horse behaves better.”

“Well, he was broken a long time ago.”

The ghost of a smile tugged at the sorcerer’s lips as he nodded and got up after a moment. “There. You should be as good as new in a couple of days.”

“A couple of days?” The soldier scrunched up his nose. “Can’t you do your thing and heal it now?”

“It doesn’t work like that, Bond.” Q hummed as he wiped his hands before tossing the rag aside. He picked up his cloak and put it on again, running a hand through his unruly hair before he reached for his bag once again.

“Going somewhere?” James questioned as he sat upright.

“To the village, I have some things to do. Stay here, I’ll be back soon.”

Q had already turned and was heading for the door when the soldier got up and shook his head. “No. You are not leaving like that again.”

“James...” The young man sighed, his shoulders slumping.

“I have spent a year looking for you, I am not losing you again.” James pulled on his trousers and threw his coat over his shoulders, trying his very best to hide his limp. Q watched him with an arched eyebrow and his arms crossed over his chest. He knew the guard had always been stubborn, but he had yet to find out just how stubborn.

“As you wish…” The sorcerer murmured under his breath, going into the library and coming out just a few seconds later with James’ sword, belt and Archimedes in tow, meowing over and over again. “Yes, I know he should not be going out, but he insisted.” Q said, glancing down at the cat and shrugging. The feline huffed softly and rubbed himself against the man’s legs. “You too?” He groaned, handing James his things before he turned his full attention towards Archimedes.

The blond watched curiously the way Q talked to his cat, unlike anyone he had ever seen before. People were often fond of their pets and sometimes they talked to them when they were lonely, but not like that. It seemed like his life as a hermit was starting to affect him. He smiled softly to himself, pulling on his jacket and then the baldric before attaching the sword to it.

The unlikely trio left the cottage together, with Q leading, Archimedes comfortably riding on his shoulders, underneath the cloak and James following just a step or two behind. It would've been easier for the soldier to take his horse instead of subjecting the two of them to that tediously slow pace they kept, but he had thought it better to let the poor animal rest for another day or two after what had happened.

They walked in complete silence for about an hour before James decided he had had enough and he opened his mouth. “Are we still in Vauxhall?”

“Yes.”

The response that he got was dry and curt, much less than what he expected, which probably would've been a full explanation.

“Where in Vauxhall?” He tried again, hoping he would be able to get more this time. And he did. He got a look from those bright green eyes as Q decided whether it would be a risk or not to tell him before he finally spoke.

“Duror.”

James’ eyes widened minimally. It wasn’t far away from there where he had grown up, in the far North of Vauxhall where his father had built a whole castle for the family before him and his mother were murdered when James was still very young. He had been sent to live in the capital where he was raised to be a knight the way many Lords were. The estate was long forgotten now, with no one to look after it and no one to claim those lands, not even James would. They were said to be cursed, of course, the sceptical soldier didn’t believe it, but he had no desire to go back to Skyfall castle and revive so many memories of a childhood that once was.

“If you are not running, then why are you all the way here?” He asked quietly, fixing his cold blue eyes on the young man and his familiar.

“Why are you here?”

“I already told you. I have been looking for you.”

Q shrugged lightly, making the cat dig his claws on his shoulders to avoid falling backwards. “Here I am.”

“Evidently.” James scoffed.

“So what do you want?” The sorcerer sighed, finding it hard to believe that the soldier could possibly be so thick.

“We want you—” James started before he was interrupted.

“—Who is  _ we _ ?” Q asked suddenly, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.

“Us, the rebels, the people of Vauxhall.”

“The rebels?”

“Those of us who are still fighting against Silva.”

“Oh…”

James knew the young man wasn’t stupid, he couldn’t possibly be serious and he was honestly starting to suspect that Q was just doing that to tease him. If he was truly trying to annoy him, then he was certainly succeeding. “If I may continue…” 

Q glanced at him and nodded distractedly, reaching up to stroke Archimedes’ white mittens. “I am all ears.”

“Right...” Bond nodded slightly, watching how the cat reciprocated and rubbed himself against Q. “As I was saying, we want you to go back and help us bring Silva down. He is not Vauxhall’s legitimate king.”

“Who is then?” Q asked after a second or two, making James stop for a moment to consider his question. He stopped as well and turned around to look at the blond. “If I— Sorry, if  _ we  _ overthrow Silva, who is going to take his place as king of Vauxhall? Olivia left no descendants, there is no one else to do it.”

“That is not relevant.” James shook his head as he frowned. “Silva has spent the entirety of last year torturing these people, he has to be stopped!”

“Oh, but it does matter, James! If you dethrone him, you need a replacement, otherwise the kingdom will be submerged in utter chaos.”

“Christ… We can think about that later! People are dying because of him, Q!” The soldier snapped.

“You think I don’t know that?” The sorcerer scoffed, resting his hands on his hips.

“No, I think you don’t care!” Bond grit his teeth and resumed walking, taking deep breaths as he resisted the urge to keep yelling at the young man in the middle of the woods until he reacted to what was really going on around them.

Q watched him, standing there with his familiar for a minute before he sighed, shook his head to himself and started walking after him.


	6. The Curse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Like most of the kingdom nowadays, the small village was quiet, but far from peaceful. The people went about their business without drawing much attention to themselves, allowing an almost macabre silence to reign around the place. It was almost like Silva had sucked the joy out of everything when he had gotten to Vauxhall.

* * *

They arrived at the village after almost two hours of walking. The aching wound on James’ leg forced him to sit down and rest as soon as they did. Like most of the kingdom nowadays, the small village was quiet, but far from peaceful. The people went about their business without drawing much attention to themselves, allowing an almost macabre silence to reign around the place. It was almost like Silva had sucked the joy out of everything when he had gotten to Vauxhall. The only thing that pierced through that thick fog of unhappiness and discontent was the occasional sound of children playing amongst them, using sticks as swords and poking each other while they played ‘Soldiers and Fallen’.

The arrival of a true member of the Royal guard did not go unnoticed, causing a sensation. In no time, both Q and James were surrounded by children who kept asking them questions without even stopping to take a deep breath in between sentences.

_ “Are you really a knight?” _

_ “Have you been in a battle before?” _

_ “Can I see your sword?” _

_ “Have you fought dragons before?” _

_ “How many Fallen have you killed?” _

_ “Can I try your jacket on?” _

Q couldn’t help smiling softly as he watched how the kids flustered the hardened soldier with their endless questions, trying to take a better look at his sword and moving closer to examine the insignia on his coat. James could hardly keep up with their questions, never mind answer them. He looked left and right and gripped his sword to keep those little hands from taking it away from him.

“I… yes, I am. No, don’t touch it. You’ll get hurt. What? Oh, yes, many battles… Fallen… quite a few… I told you not to touch that… No, I have never… Well, sort of… What? No… Hey, I told you—”

“Alright, guys! Off you go, Sir Bond and I are busy.” Q interrupted, seeing as the children were starting to push at James’ limits. He put his hands behind his back, materialising as many biscuits as there were children with the help of some magic before showing them to the kids. “Take one and go play.”

They gasped in excitement and hurried to grab a biscuit each, thanking the sorcerer before they ran off, chasing each other and laughing. One of them grabbed a stick from the ground and proclaimed himself a royal knight, just like James, before another one yelled about having magical powers, like Q, and the rest of them joined, laughing and enjoying their treat.

“Popular trick, is it not?” Bond murmured as he got up, brushing off his trousers before walking over to the young man.

“What?” Q asked distractedly, tearing his gaze off the children to look at James, but only for a couple seconds. “The biscuits?”

“Yes, I’ve seen you do it before.”

“No, you have not.” Q murmured dismissively as he grabbed Archimedes and carefully set the cat on the ground to be able to move about more easily. The feline meowed softly and began following the sorcerer, taking his time to sniff around and explore the village without ever taking his eyes off him.

“I have!” Bond scoffed, wondering why on earth Q would try to hide such a thing from him. “Back at the castle, I saw you do it a couple of times for the children there.”

The raven-haired man gave in and shrugged, making a turn to head towards the small market in the centre of the village. “Children like biscuits, Bond.” He simply said before walking towards the first stall, leaving the blond behind to wonder what that even meant.

James sighed and shook his head lightly. Q wasn’t going to tell him much after what he said to him in the forest, it seemed like he had struck a nerve and now he would have to either make it up to him or wait until he decided to stop giving him the cold shoulder. If only he could know how long it would be until that happened…

He watched as Q pulled out a small leather purse out of his bag and used the gold it contained to buy some food for the two of them. He had seen the sorcerer materialise biscuits out of thin air, he didn’t understand why they needed to walk all the way to the village to buy food that would probably only last them a day or two when Q could probably do the same with the rest of their meals.

What worried him the most was how he was going to convince the sorcerer to go back to the capital with him. He didn’t seem willing to do it, not even interested in helping the cause at all. Was he a different man from the one he had known? He couldn’t have changed so much in a year? He had been willing to give his life to protect his kingdom and now… he was living in plain conformism in the middle of nowhere with that bloody cat that just seemed to watch everything that James did at all times.

“Quentin!”

The scream of a woman running across the plaza pulled him out of his thoughts suddenly, forcing him to look around until he spotted her heading for the messy-haired sorcerer. The soldier’s hand moved to grip his sword instinctively, reacting as if she were a threat heading straight for the sorcerer. Sensing his agitation, Q looking at James immediately and raised his hand to stop him from doing anything stupid. The soldier froze, his expression shifting into one of mixed confusion and concern. He approached slowly, just enough to realise that the woman who was running towards the young man was sobbing hysterically.

“Quentin, you have to come with me!” She cried, gripping his cloak desperately. James observed cautiously in the meantime, although the woman no longer seemed like an immediate threat. She must have been in her early-thirties, but the harsh life conditions she had been subjected to up there in Duror made her look at least ten or fifteen years older, not to mention the colourless attire she wore, which seemed to drain all the pigment from her skin and left her looking paler than she actually was. James was starting to actually take pity in the poor woman, releasing his sword and stepping closer.

“What is it, Nia?” The sorcerer asked calmly in an attempt to tranquilize her. His sole voice was enough to make Bond’s muscles untense, making him suspect that he was somehow using his magic to make the atmosphere around them more soothing in order to get the woman talking more easily.

_ Clever, boy… _

James cocked his head as the woman drew a shaky breath before speaking.

“It’s Cai… He’s—He’s ill.” She said, wiping her tears with a handkerchief the sorcerer produced from his pocket. “The baker, he found him in the woods last night…” That was as far as she got before she choked up again and started crying into her hands.

Q glanced at James and then looked down at her again. “Take me to him.” He said urgently, letting her take his hand and practically drag him to her humble home. 

The two stepped inside the small and dark, wooden house, followed by James, who never let Q out of his sight. Inside, on the only bed they had, laid a child of about 8 years of age. He looked as pale as the clouds on the sky and had dark circles under his eyes that immediately made Q’s concern grow. The sorcerer approached and set his bag on the floor before kneeling next to the bed and pressing the palm of his hand to the boy’s forehead.

“He’s burning up.” He whispered, glancing back at his mother and furrowing his eyebrows. “You say he was found in the woods?”

She nodded in response, watching as Q pressed his fingers to her son’s neck. “Why?” Nia asked.

“This is the work of a curse, not an illness.”

James stepped closer to take a look at the kid, shaking his head. “How do you know?”

The sorcerer turned the boy’s palms to the sky and rolled up his sleeves to show his mother and the soldier the traces of an ancient spell that ran up his thin arms, like written down with dark ink and slowly seeping underneath his skin. It was as beautiful as a work of art, but as deadly as poison.

“Can you get rid of it?” Nia asked nervously.

Q looked up at her and then at the boy again, hesitating for a moment before he nodded. She didn’t see it, but James did, clearly. There was something else that Q wasn’t telling them and knowing him, he would keep it to himself until the very end.

“I will need you to bring me a few things though.” He said, getting up.

“Anything.” She said immediately.

Both Nia and Q stepped outside as he gave her a list of everything he needed in order to lift the curse, making sure she remembered it all before he headed back into the house where he had left James and the boy. He found the soldier examining closely the curse inked on Cai’s pale arms, trying to find the meaning of all the symbols he saw.

“That is Silva’s work. I have seen it before.” Q murmured softly, approaching them slowly as he took his cloak off and hung it behind the door before rolling up the sleeves of his impeccable white shirt.

James looked up at him and raised an eyebrow, a silent question. 

“Before I came to Vauxhall.” Q said.

“You knew him?” James was already starting to sound defensive, so Q thought it better to offer a proper explanation.

“He was my mentor.” He said after a moment.

Now  _ that _ got James’ attention. Never in a million years would he have imagined that a being such as Silva would have had any sort of influence in someone like Q, much less that he would have been his mentor.

“He found me when I was very young. I was just starting to discover that I wasn’t like the rest of the kids around me, I could do things they couldn’t even begin to imagine. And in a way he was like me.”

“In a way?” James asked curiously, taking a seat on a small stool next to the bed.

Q nodded, looking down at the wooden planks on the floor. “Silva has magic, but not like mine. He has always needed his staff to channel it like most humans who have magic do.”

The blond parted his lips to ask a question about the staff when he suddenly realised what Q had said. “Pardon? Most humans? What is that even supposed to mean, Q?” His eyes widened and he frowned deeply.

“Right… that...” The raven-haired man sighed, kneeling next to the bed and offering the child a few sips of water, just holding a glass to his lips and straightening him up slightly despite his weak protests. “I am human. Well... partly.”

“Partly? What is the other part?”

“I am a Cambion. Half-human, half-demon.” Q muttered quietly, refusing to let anyone other than the soldier know. The child was too sick and weak to hear him and be able to remember anyway. But if any other person were to know his secret, they would probably turn against him, try to kill him.

“You’re joking, right?” James scoffed.

Q looked up at him, allowing his eyes to acquire that same cat-like glow that James had seen that day outside the castle when they had been under attack. 

“Okay, you are not kidding…” The soldier mumbled, swallowing hard. “So is that why you can...”

“Yes, my abilities are… technically inherited. But I still had to learn how to control them when I was young.”

“And Silva… He taught you?” James was still struggling to process it all despite doing his very best to keep a straight face; the fact that the lanky, bespectacled man kneeling in front of him wasn’t entirely human, how the murderous tyrant who now called himself King of Vauxhall was the one who had been his teacher...

Q nodded, looking at the boy as he groaned softly in pain. He held his hand over him and closed his eyes, muttering a spell under his breath to get rid of his pain. The kid tensed for a moment before he started to relax and let out a soft breath. James watched them intently, wondering how Q had turned out so different from Silva if that man had been the one to bring him up. It was a complete matter of nurture versus nature, he supposed. And nature always won… He should have learnt that by now.

“So what happened then? Why did you part ways?” Bond asked after a moment, making Q look at him again.

The young man sighed. “Like I said, Silva’s magic wasn’t as strong as it is now and with time, I learned to control my own and grew more powerful. I guess he didn’t like that. He didn’t want his protégé to be stronger than him.”

James nodded as Q spoke, listening carefully.

“One day he just… turned against me. We got into a fight and it did not end up well. I left him behind to lick his wounds and wandered the wetlands by myself for a long time before I finally headed to Vauxhall, searching for a purpose. The last thing I knew about Silva was that he had made a deal with a demon to gain more power, but at the time I just…”

“Didn’t believe it?” The blond asked and Q nodded softly in response. “I wouldn’t have either, don’t worry.”

Just as he said that, the door opened and Nia stepped into the house, carrying a basket with everything that Q had asked for. The sorcerer rushed to her and took the basket from her hands, inspecting the contents to make sure she had brought him everything he had asked for.

“Perfect.” He hummed, emptying the basket on the wooden table by the window. He got to work immediately and neither the woman nor the soldier dared disturb him as he threw ingredients into a pot and murmured spells, filling the room with a sulfurous smell. James coughed softly and opened a window, but got scolded by the sorcerer immediately.

“Sorry.” He murmured as he closed the window, resigning himself to stand by the boy’s bed and watch as Q worked; moving from side to side, burning leaves and reciting spells. Finally, he approached the boy, holding a smaller wooden bowl filled with ashes. He used two fingers to scoop some ashes and painted with them symbols and letters that did not belong to the English language on both of the boy’s palms, continuing up his pale arms until he reached his elbows. He repeated the same pattern up his own arms before rolling down his sleeves and setting the bowl with ashes down, turning to James and Nia.

“Leave, it is not safe for the two of you to remain in here.”

Nia nodded hesitantly, stepping outside. She knew better than to contradict the young sorcerer. James on the other side, crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head, refusing to move from the spot where he stood.

“I’m not letting you out of my sight.”

“Bond…” Q groaned. 

“If it’s not safe for me, it’s not safe for you either.”

The wild-haired man stared at him in surprise, nodding slowly. Up until that moment he had thought that the only reason why he had insisted on keeping an eye on him was because he didn't trust him, not because he was worried about him.

“As you wish…” Q murmured, nodding. He knelt on the floor next to the bed and took both of the boy’s hands, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. He took his time to empty his mind and just focus on the boy, his energy, how the dark magic emanating from the curse felt as it slowly took over the child’s body, corroding and corrupting to leave nothing behind.

It was definitely Silva’s, he had no doubt about it. He had seen it before, had seen the way it painfully ended its host’s life. But, just like with any other spell Silva had ever created, there was always a catch, the curse could not be lifted, not even by the most powerful wizard in the world. So what was Q even doing when he was well aware of that fatidic clause its creator had made sure to add?

The young man’s hands acquired a light purple glow as he tightened his grip on Cai’s hands, letting out a soft groan and focusing on reaching for the dark magic lodged within the child’s soul.

The runes that the curse had left behind started to withdraw from his skin, only to travel like snakes from his arms to Q’s. As they did, the ash-drawn symbols started to burn themselves on both their skins, as if drawn with gunpowder and ignited.

“Q?” James murmured as he heard the boy whimper and started to see the carefully drawn burn marks appear on his skin, sealing out the curse and keeping it from returning into his body. 

The sorcerer never answered, gritting his teeth to keep himself from making any sound as Silva’s dark magic forced its way into its next host. It was far from compatible with his own magic, even though their sources were essentially identical, making Q feel like he was being torn apart from the inside by the malignant force. 

_ “Well, well, well… you just couldn’t help yourself, could you?” _

Silva’s voice resounded like an echo in his head as for a moment, the two of them connected and the warlock invaded the young sorcerer’s mind.

_ “You just saw a dying child and had to go sacrifice yourself for him. It’s actually disappointing, all that power is going to go to waste once you die.” _

_ “Oh, but I’m sure it will have been worth it, right? I mean, the boy will probably end up living… 20 years? Tops.” _

_ “God, you’re pitiful… I wanted you dead so badly, but this isn’t even going to be satisfactory at all.” _

Q wasn’t able to keep himself silent, Silva’s consciousness within his own, his magic, it was all too much for him. He wanted to yell at the warlock to shut up, but all he let out was a pained groan as the glow from his hands started to diminish and he felt his own strength start to fade quickly while the curse absorbed it.

“Q? Are you okay?” James asked, watching how the sorcerer slowly let go of the child only to catch himself on the floor before he could fall.

“Fine.” He mumbled softly, hearing the vague whispers of ancient voices in his ears, accompanied by Silva’s provocations, haunting and taunting him for the mistake he had just made, transferring the curse from Cai’s body to his own and sealing it in there. He was stronger, he would probably last longer, at least long enough to get rid of it. He just couldn’t let a child die like that. Despite what James believed, he did care.

He looked down at his hands, watching how the curse marks faded slowly from his skin until there weren’t any traces left. Suddenly, he felt James’ hand on his back, which startled him enough to make him sit upright immediately.

“Sure?” The soldier asked doubtfully.

“Help me up.” Q nodded tiredly, making no move to grab James’ arms as the blond offered his hands. Instead, Bond slid his hands under Q’s arms and pulled him up, noticing how the sorcerer could barely muster enough strength to keep himself upright.

“ _ Okay _ my arse…” James grumbled, sliding underneath the young man’s arm to hold him up and moving towards the door with him. “What happened?”

Q rolled his eyes, leaning into the soldier’s muscular frame as he walked. Nia was right outside the door and as soon as the two men left the small, wooden house, she approached them, grabbing Q’s arm.

“How is he?” She asked him. “Is he okay?”

“Cai will be okay, Nia. He just needs to rest.” Q said, nodding slowly

“Thank you!” She choked back a sob, gripping Q’s hand and pressing a kiss to his knuckles. “Thank you, how will I ever be able to repay you?”

The young man shook his head as he looked into her teary eyes. “Just take care of him.”

She nodded and rushed into the house with her son, leaving the two alone outside.

“We should… we should head back to the cottage.” Q mumbled weakly, fighting his body’s urge to shut down while he clung to James and struggled desperately to keep his eyes open.

One look was enough for the soldier to realise that, realistically, they were not going to make it if they tried to go back to the cottage in that moment. Not with a sorcerer who could barely stand on his own and a soldier whose stitches threatened to tear at any moment. “I don’t think so. We’ll find a place here to spend the night.”

“Bond—”

“—Don’t start. I am not carrying you like this through the forest. It’s going to be dark soon and you are not well enough to make the trip right now.” James insisted, leading Q to a nearby inn he had spotted on their way to the market.

Had he had enough strength to keep arguing, the sorcerer would have done it, but since he lacked it, he just nodded and allowed the soldier to drag him along. It seemed like everyone in the village was acquainted with the young man and more importantly, it seemed like everyone adored him, so much so that the innkeeper didn’t even make them pay when they stepped into the establishment and asked for a room to spend the night.

Q insisted, knowing that the business had been basically dead for a year now since no one wanted to travel into Vauxhall with Silva running the kingdom. Nevertheless, the innkeeper refused to let him pay, leading them to their room before he handed James the key. The blond carefully helped Q lay down on the bed before sitting down by his side, huffing softly in exhaustion.

The two rested upon the bed in complete silence for the longest time until the soldier finally turned to look at the sorcerer, finding him looking his way already. James knew that look, he shook his head and shifted to face him entirely.

“Stop reading my mind.”

“Sorry… Can’t help it.” Q admitted, looking down at the space between them as if embarrassed. “Your thoughts are… loud. You have a lot of questions in there.”

Bond looked at those grassy green eyes he had gotten used to admire from afar in the castle and sighed quietly, nodding. “I guess I do. I should take advantage of the fact that you can’t run away right now and make you answer some of them.”

Q couldn’t help smiling at that. “Maybe you should.”

“Starting with what happened a year ago.”

The sorcerer sat upright, furrowing his eyebrows as the smile disappeared from his face. Nevertheless, he kept his eyes on the soldier and awaited the question.

“Did you really not know anything about Silva’s plan to attack Vauxhall?” James asked cautiously, averting his gaze.

“Of course not.” Q scoffed indignantly, shaking his head. “If I had, I would have never let him set foot on the kingdom.”

The blond felt like an enormous weight had just been lifted off his chest, finally allowing him to breathe deeply. He had had that question in his head for months now, tormenting him, but knowing that the sorcerer hadn't actually had anything to do with the attack brought some sort of ease to him.

“Why did you run away then?” He asked next, moving a bit closer to the young man.

The sorcerer took a moment to reply, breathing in deeply and looking away to fix his gaze on the dead tree outside the window. “I was ashamed... I was supposed to protect M and the kingdom and I failed to do both of those things. I suppose I was also scared of what would happen if you discovered my connection with Silva… I wasn’t thinking clearly, James.”

“And now you are?” The soldier asked dryly, making the young man look at him again and nod softly. “So why do you still refuse to go back?”

Q sighed, knowing that running away from the question would be useless this time. “These people need me, James. You have seen it yourself. They have suffered far too much and if I just leave now…”

“If we defeat Silva they will be free!”

“And if we don’t?”

“What?” James cocked his head to the side in confusion.

“What if we lose? What if he kills us the way he killed M? Alec even! There will be no one left to look after them.” 

James was starting to realise what was Q's real concern and he was starting to see just how real it was. “But if we stay here, helping just one village, what will happen to the rest of the kingdom, Q?” He asked quietly.

Silence reigned between the two of them, only an owl hooting outside broke the haunting quietude that had settled in the room while the two men with equally pleading gazes looked at each other.

“If we don’t do anything, they will still die, Q. Wouldn’t you rather know that you gave your life to protect them?”

  
  



	7. Between Dust and Sunlight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Between dust and sunlight,  
> Vauxhall’s bond shall unite  
> in soul to the changeling…

* * *

_ “James.” _

_ “James…” _

_ “James!” _

_ The soldier opened his eyes just to find a pair of opaque green eyes staring down at him on the bed. _

_ “You again?” He grumbled, rubbing his eyes and sitting upright to be face to face with the blond Fallen soldier who seemed to have taken a liking to appearing in his dreams. _

_ “You have to hurry up, Bond.” Alec hissed, glancing back over his shoulder. “The clock is ticking.” _

_ “Alec…” James sighed, looking at his old friend. “Can’t you just tell me what to do and be done with this?” _

_ The Fallen soldier shook his head fervently. “Between dust and—” _

_ “—Sunlight. Got it.” James finished his sentence, knowing the ending of that phrase after hearing it so many times. “Dust and sunlight… Alec, what the fuck is that supposed to mean?” _

“Bond? You’re dreaming again.” Q’s soft voice pulled him out of that limbo he found himself in and brought him back into the real world in just a matter of seconds. That and his cold hand resting on the soldier’s shoulder.

“What?” James mumbled sleepily as he blinked himself awake and looked around to find himself back in the warmth of Q’s cottage.

After what had happened in the village, the two of them had spent the night at the inn —there Archimedes had joined them, climbing in through the branches of the dead tree outside their window— and left to head back to the cottage the next day after Q had checked on the boy he saved, just to make sure he was still doing well. He had collected everything he had left at the house the previous day and the mother had been so grateful that she had even given them a basket filled with eggs from the chickens they kept. It wasn’t much, but it was all they could offer and for Q it was like a treasure.

Surprisingly, despite how bad the sorcerer had looked, after a night’s rest, he seemed completely fine. So even if James was ready to insist on them staying at the inn for another night, he had no excuse. The two had walked for hours until they had reached the cottage and Q had checked on Aston’s wounds, showing James how they had practically healed entirely. Then it had been the blond’s turn. He had dressed his wounds and ordered the restless soldier to remain still for the rest of the day while Q sat by his side with a book.

A week had gone by since then. A week of the two of them being cooped up in that small space. A week of Q walking around, working on his brews, potions and spells while James just watched him like a lost puppy. A week of James listening to Q talk to his cat and starting to wonder if he was actually _ talking  _ to the cat. A week since they had stopped discussing the subject of going back to the city. A week of seeing Alec in his dreams and hearing him murmur that prophetic phrase.

_ Between dust and sunlight… _

“You were dreaming. I heard you mumbling.” Q said as he woke James up gently. While the two had been living there together, their relationship had improved, going from hostile to something James would call friendly, which was more than he would have ever expected, considering how they had started off. “Let me take a look at your stitches.”

James nodded, too tired and sleepy to protest. He pushed aside the blankets and leaned his head back, sighing softly. Q leaned down and took a good look, pushing his specs up his nose.

“Hold still. This won’t hurt.” The sorcerer told him as he carefully moved two fingers over the wound and murmured some words that James couldn't even begin to understand.

“What are you doing?” The soldier asked, looking down to see that the stitches had disappeared, leaving only a small scar on his leg. “Wow...”

The young man did the same with the stitches on the back of his leg and when he was done, he leaned back and looked at the blond with a small, but cheeky grin on his face.

“I think you look even better now than you did before.” He teased.

James shook his head, suppressing a small smile. “You little shite…”

“It’s true!” Q chuckled and got up, letting Archimedes take his place next to Bond. The cat had taken a liking to the blond, very much like Q had, laying on him and rubbing himself against the man whenever he could.

James scratched behind the cat’s ears before he gently set him on the floor and sat upright to pull his clothes on. “Are you going to the village today?”

Q, who had just sat behind his desk, glanced back at him and shook his head. “No, I’ll go tomorrow. I’m tired.”

That had become a constant as of lately. The sorcerer always looked pale and tired. Had it not been for the fact that back in the castle he had been known for staying up all night working and being up and about for days on end, he would’ve been worried. But he had never, not even once, heard him complain of being tired. It was always a matter of pride with Q, so to hear those words come out of the young man’s mouth made the soldier start to worry.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” He asked, getting up and buttoning his bright blue coat.

Q nodded and gestured dismissively. “Fine. It’s just the cold. You should take Aston for a ride, he’s a bit anxious.”

James glanced out the window to look at his horse in the cozy stable Q had built for him with magic the day after they returned from the village. “You went to see him?”

“No.” The sorcerer answered without even bothering to look up at the soldier.

“Right… I’ll be back later then.” James nodded slowly, picking up his sword and attaching it to his belt.

Q stopped what he was doing to turn around and look at him. “Be careful.” He said it so seriously and in such a way that it made James think that something awful was about to happen.

“Always.”

“I mean it, Bond. Don’t wander off.” Q rolled his eyes and turned away from him, that small connection between the two of them that existed only for a moment, based off of Q’s concern for the reckless soldier, seeming to have evaporated into thin air.

“I’d never think of it.”James hummed as he opened the door, taking one last look at the sorcerer before he stepped out and closed the door behind him, leaving the man alone.

Q sighed, shaking his head to himself as he went back to his work.

“Meow!”

He looked down to see Archimedes sitting by his feet and staring up at him impatiently with his wide yellow eyes.

“What?” Q scoffed, glancing at the door and shaking his head. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

The cat meowed loudly again and the sorcerer rolled his eyes, gently nudging him with the tip of his boot.

“No, he does not... Does he?” The wild-haired man looked at his cat as his eyes slowly widened in realisation. “Oh fuck…”

How enlightening could talking to your cat be…

James was out for most of the morning. Q had been right, Aston was an anxious mess and the soldier knew that the only way to get him to calm down was to tire him out. Despite his urge to take the horse deep into the woods, he reminded himself of the sorcerer’s warning and the way he had looked at him, as if he was scared of something happening to him. He stayed close to the cottage, but far enough to have some privacy and be able to clear his head. After spending almost a week in that small cottage with Q, he felt like he was starting to lose it. Not in a bad way exactly, but he could feel their dynamic quickly changing and he wasn’t entirely sure if he was ready for that change to happen.

It had been a long time since he had been involved with anyone and things hadn’t worked out well the last time. It was fair to say that James was scared of getting hurt. Besides, he couldn’t even begin to imagine Q having any sort of interest in a man like him, someone whose intellect served him for nothing other than bellic strategies. A man covered in scars and hardened by war. A soldier. Q was a sorcerer, a being James thought of as some sort of mythical creature who wreaked havoc on mortal’s hearts before disappearing into the woods never to be seen again. Perhaps that was exactly what he was, but that didn’t stop the blond from smiling every time he saw him hunched over one of his potions like some sort of gargoyle or in the library in the back of the cottage, reading between dust and sunlight…

The man stopped dead in his tracks, and looked down at the grass beneath him, as green as Q’s bright eyes and still shimmering with the morning dew.

“Between dust and sunlight…” He murmured to himself, running a hand through his short hair and looking at his horse as he held the reins.

When he was just a young boy living in Skyfall castle, one of his tutors had forced him to read the entirety of Fleming’s old Book of Prophecies, an assignment he had thought to be entirely useless at the moment. Some of them had stuck with him through the years, mostly those that made absolutely no sense whatsoever, but which people loved to try and find a meaning for.

Now he realised what Alec had been saying all along. It was the beginning of one of the most famous ones.

_ Between dust and sunlight, _

_ Vauxhall’s bond shall unite _

_ in soul to the changeling… _

He couldn’t remember the last part, perhaps because he had never bothered to learn it. Why should he have? It had never made any sense anyway. Until now, that was.

‘ _ Vauxhall’s bond _ ’, always rumoured to be the royal family, was starting to look like nothing more than a play on words to James, or rather Sir Bond of Vauxhall.

And ‘ _ the changeling _ ’? Well, that had never made sense, at least not until he heard the word  _ Cambion  _ come out of Q’s lips.

Even if he was missing the second half, he was convinced that he was right about all of it. He hadn’t been so wrong about it all to begin with, chasing after Q and staying with him despite his refusal to help. Hope bubbled up inside of him just by thinking about it. He knew that prophecies were never wrong and if the prophecy was really about them...

He caught Aston by surprise when he held onto the saddle’s pommel and used it to jump on the horse’s back, making the poor animal huff softly as his delicious grass meal was interrupted by James, who urged him on and tugged at the reins to lead the horse back to the cottage, making the animal start to gallop and gain speed quickly.

They were about an hour away from the house, but they arrived within 20 minutes, which to be fair did help Aston release some energy. James jumped off the horse as soon as the small cottage was within sight. There was nothing he wanted more than to just rush in, but for the sake of his poor horse, he took the time to actually remove the saddle and get him into the stable, wrapping a blanket around the large silver-coloured animal.

With Aston safe and sound in his stable, James rushed into the cottage, panting softly. It felt good to be able to run again without having to worry about his stitches, but he hardly had any time to consider that. He was too focused on looking for Q.

The soldier stopped right outside the door as he was about to barge in, reconsidering and figuring that for the sake of his suave image it would be better to slow down and take a few breaths. He brushed his clothes off, ran a hand through his hair and nodded to himself before opening the door.

“James?” Q called absentmindedly.

“Yes.” The soldier answered while doing his very best not to sound breathless.

“I thought you’d take longer.”

Should he be offended? James frowned lightly, realising Q wasn’t in the main room by the fireplace.

“In the library...” The sorcerer called before murmuring something else which James couldn’t manage to understand. Neither could he tell whether he was casting a spell, talking to himself or to the cat, but none of those situations were odd for him by that point.

“Did you read my mind?”

“...No?” The young man answered hesitantly.

“Stop it, Q.” James didn’t want to get into that again, but what he had in his mind in that precise moment, he wanted to keep to himself. At least for a little longer.

He shook his head, walking across the minuscule immensity of the cottage until he made it to the passage leading into the library, only to find himself face to face with Q, perched on the tall ladder like some sort of owl. In his delicate hands he held a large and rather old-looking book of spells which James had seen a couple times before. He seemed to be enthralled by his reading material, for he didn’t even look up as the blond stepped in and leaned back against the bookshelf across from him, watching him in silence.

Between dust and sunlight. There he sat. The changeling. The man that could save Vauxhall. The man that could save him.

Archimedes rested placidly on the lowest shelf, the smallest of smiles tugging at his upturned lips as he purred softly. But not even that sound could disturb the raven-haired sorcerer, who ran his index finger over the pages of the book as if touching a lover’s skin. Slowly, carefully, delicately. 

James smiled to himself and looked down at his boots as he shoved his hands into his pockets. He was almost certain that whichever thought went through his mind in that moment would end up being picked up by the sorcerer. For once, Q’s annoying mind reading abilities were going to prove useful.

_ ‘Q?’ _

The young man glanced up at him, finding it nearly impossible to tear his eyes away from the pages of his book. He found James staring silently at him with a small smile upon his face. What was he up to?

For a moment, he wasn’t entirely sure if it was him who he was looking at with that expression on his face. He looked around quickly and then furrowed his eyebrows slightly as he watched how the soldier straightened up and stepped closer to him. Close enough for the sorcerer to become acutely aware of the blond’s vital energy and how warm it had become since the last time they had been in close proximity.

He met his eyes, paying attention to every detail of them. Deep blue eyes telling him of a life filled with struggles, passions and loss. Oceans he would gladly drown himself in any given day.

The young man blushed darkly and shook his head after catching himself thinking about James in that way. To think that a man like him, the Commander of the Royal Guard would think of him as more than a tool or a weapon was a nice fantasy, but a fantasy nevertheless.

“What are you doing?”

_ ‘Can I steal a moment of your time?’ _

He could’ve sworn his heart skipped a beat at the sound of James’ thoughts echoing around in his head, his sultry voice filling him with an unexpected warmth. Q shuddered lightly, straightening his back and swallowing hard. “Why?”

_ ‘Can I?’ _

James insisted, reaching slowly to take the sorcerer’s book from his hands. 

“I was reading that.” Q protested, making James smile softly.

“I know.” He said out loud. “But you’ve been doing exactly that for the last three days.”

“Jealous of a book, Bond?” Q teased, cocking his head to one side. The soldier rolled his eyes at him, tossing back the book only for Q to stop it from falling with his magic. “Careful!” He lowered it slowly to the ground and turned to James again.

“What the hell is so urgent for you to come in here and start throwing my books arou—”

Before he could finish that sentence the soldier leaned in and pressed his lips against his own. The shock came first, making the young man freeze in his spot and press his hands flat against Bond’s chest almost ready to push him away. After a second or two, though, he started melting against James, kissing back as he slid one of his hands up slowly to cup the soldier’s cheek. He could feel a trace of the man’s stubble scraping gently against the soft skin of his hand while the blond deepened the kiss, reminding him that what was going on in that moment was very much real and not a figment of his imagination.

He didn’t even realise when the books, plants and artifacts around the started levitating in the room, but apparently that was too much for Archimedes, who woke up and raised his head to look at the two men locking lips before meowing loudly. Q gasped in surprise, pulling away and looking at the cat with a dark blush covering his entire face. Immediately, everything that had been lifted off the ground around them, including Archimedes, fell back down with a loud crash, startling Q.

“Sorry.” He murmured sheepishly, taking his hands to his face as he hid behind them embarrassedly and Bond chuckled softly.

“That good, Q?”

“Shut up.” The young man groaned softly.

“Make me.”

Bastard… Bond knew damn well what he was doing and he knew perfectly well what that cocky smirk of his did to people. Q looked up at him, narrowing his eyes as the soldier quirked an eyebrow. “Well?”

James was probably the most childish man he had ever met, after Alec, of course. But that didn’t make Q want to kiss him any less. Back at the castle, whenever he was tempted to say something, he just invented an excuse and got away from him. But here, he couldn’t run away. After spending more than a week with him, nursing him back to health and getting to know him better, it was almost inevitable to succumb to those feelings.

“I can go if you really don’t want me...” The blond murmured, gesturing towards the door.

Much to his surprise, Q rolled his eyes, getting off the ladder only to wrap his arms around the soldier’s neck and pull him into a deep kiss. He could still taste faint traces of scotch in James’ lips from the previous night, when the two had sat in front of the fireplace and shared a glass. It was the way in which he wrapped his arms around his narrow frame that nearly made him lose it. For a moment, he almost forgot just how lonely he was, how lost he felt day to day. James served like an anchor, holding him down and reminding him that he wasn’t alone.

The young sorcerer clung to the soldier like a lifeline, while the blond’s lips moved slowly to kiss along his jaw and down his neck. “I might need more than just a moment of your time.” He whispered, his warm breath fanning against Q’s ear as he slowly backed up the sorcerer until he had him pinned against the bookshelves.

“Be my guest.” Q sighed softly, keeping his eyes closed and tilting his head back to bare his neck to the blond. He slowly loosened his arms and lowered them until his hands rested atop James’ biceps, squeezing gently.

“An hour…”

“Or two…” The sorcerer mumbled.

“A day…”

“Or more…” Q breathed as James’ warm hands untucked his shirt and slid underneath it.


	8. A Concession

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Why do you want to fight? Really?” The young man met his warm blue gaze as he asked, biting his lower lip.
> 
> The soldier took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling again. There was an answer he had always given everyone, a hero's answer, and an honest answer which only he knew about.

* * *

“James?”

“Mm?” 

To say that the soldier’s chest was the most comfortable pillow Q had ever found was a terrible understatement. The sorcerer barely raised his head, resting his chin on James to be able to look up and see his face, despite the fact that the soldier was staring at the ceiling. The bed was hardly large enough for the two of them, but Q was so close to James —limbs and sheets tangled up— that somehow, they managed to fit into the mattress together.

“Let’s go back to the capital.” The young man whispered, absentmindedly tracing figures with the tip of his fingers on the blond’s chest.

James raised his head to look at him after a second, furrowing his eyebrows. “Are you serious?” Just when he was starting to think that he would be spending the rest of his life in that little cottage in the woods, running away from all his problems.

Q nodded softly, his mussed up hair falling over his eyes. James carefully ran his fingers through his dark hair, pushing it away from his eyes and looking into them. They were even prettier when they weren’t hidden behind a pair of spectacles or a mop of dark curls.

“What are we going to do with Silva?” He asked next, tilting his head to the side.

“What I should have done instead of sparing his life all those years ago.” The sorcerer whispered, resting his head on James’ chest and closing his eyes as he sighed. He wasn’t pleased with the idea of taking a life, but neither was he with the idea of letting Silva continue to massacre his people.

The two of them remained silent for a while, listening to the fire crackle in the fireplace before Q spoke again.

“Can I ask you something?”

James nodded softly and looked down at him. “Of course.”

“Why do you want to fight? Really?” The young man met his warm blue gaze as he asked, biting his lower lip.

The soldier took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling again. There was an answer he had always given everyone, a hero's answer, and an honest answer which only he knew about.

“Because I’m tired of running, I guess. Why do you want to fight all of a sudden?”

Q bit his lower lip, taking his time to reply. It wasn’t easy, but he knew exactly why he had changed his mind. Why, all of a sudden, dying out there in the woods wasn’t how he wanted things to end.

“Because... I have someone to live and fight for.” He whispered, meeting James’ eyes as the blond looked down at him in surprise.

“Q—” He started before the sorcerer interrupted him.

“—There’s something I didn’t tell you.” The sorcerer straightened up and pulled the blankets around his bare waist, kneeling next to James on the bed while the blond simply stared at him curiously. He extended his arms and let him take his hands into his own.

“What is it?” James asked softly, watching as the young man lowered his gaze before making the curse marks on his arms visible to the soldier. Bond turned his hands over, frowning deeply and touching the dark symbols inked on Q’s skin with the pads of his thumbs while he slowly shook his head. “What… Is this… Please tell me you didn’t.”

Now he knew what that look that Q had given him back at Nia’s house had meant.

“You didn’t get rid of the curse, did you?” James looked up to meet his eyes, gripping the sorcerer’s wrists while he demanded an answer to keep him from running away like he usually did.

The young man shook his head, lips pursed tightly to keep his bottom lip from trembling. “I transferred it.”

“Why would you do that?” James sat upright to be at eye level with Q, keeping his hold on his hands.

“There is only one way to get rid of that curse, James. By killing whoever casted it… I couldn’t let that boy die like that.” The sorcerer’s voice was a soft whisper, barely audible as he looked down at the space between them, leaning forwards until his forehead rested on James’ shoulder and closing his eyes.

The soldier nodded, slowly releasing his wrists only to wrap his muscular arms around the thinner man and pull him as close as humanly possible. The two of them remained silent while in the tight embrace as if afraid that any word they uttered could puncture the bubble they were in.

It was James who finally broke the silence, speaking softly. “We’ll figure it out, Q. He won’t win this time.” He rubbed his back gently and pressed his lips to the young man’s pale shoulder. “I promise.”

The rest of the afternoon was spent like that, wrapped in each other’s arms and whispering reassurances while they both racked their brains for some sort of strategy that would help them secure a win against Silva. The warlock had an enormous advantage over them, two enormous fire breathing dragons to watch his back and an army of undead soldiers, not to mention the fact that they weren’t entirely sure if Q’s magic would be strong enough to match him in a fight.

“We are going to need help.” Q finally conceded, looking at the blond soldier beneath him, who nodded in response.

“I know exactly who to go to.” He said, earning himself a look of surprise. “What? You’re not the only one who has been busy.”

Q chuckled and raised his hands in mock surrender. “Okay, busy bee.” He teased, yawning softly. “Who?”

“Remember when I told you about the rebellion?”

“Of course.” He nodded.

“Well, I’ve been in contact with them ever since we left Vauxhall. They have been helping me look for you.” James explained. “There’s at least a hundred soldiers in it ready to fight and a few other people who would be willing to join even if they haven’t been trained.”

“Who’s leading it?” Q asked quietly. “Please don’t tell me it’s Tanner.”

Bond chuckled and shook his head. “Wouldn’t that be something? No, Sir Gareth Mallory and Eve Moneypenny are leading.”

The sorcerer’s eyes clouded for a moment as images suddenly inundated his brain. Flashes came and went so fast that he was barely able to focus on what he was seeing.

_ Vauxhall’s crown… _

_ A muddy helmet... _

_ The kingdom’s sceptre… _

_ A bloody sword… _

_ The royal orb… _

_ A battered shield… _

_ A family tree. _

He gasped suddenly, taking a hand to his head with a soft groan and shutting his eyes. James set his own hand on top of Q’s, furrowing his eyebrows in concern. “What’s wrong?”

Q didn’t even bother to reply, he got up suddenly, almost stumbling as he hurried to pull on the first shirt he found —which happened to be James’— before running into the library. 

“Q!” The blond yelled, hoping to get him to slow down before finally getting up as well. He realised Q had taken his shirt so he simply pulled his trousers on and followed the young sorcerer into the library, only to find him halfway up one of the ladders, trying to reach a book in the highest of shelves.

He stood behind him for precaution, which turned out to be a good idea when the wild-haired sorcerer slipped on his way down and fell straight into the soldier’s arms. “Thank you.” He murmured sheepishly, hugging to his chest a large book with Vauxhall’s royal insignia on its bright purple cover.

“Mhm.” James nodded, rolling his eyes as he lowered his bare feet to the floor. “Want to tell me what this is all about?”

“Mallory.” Q murmured, opening the enormous book and starting to look for the right page while walking towards his desk. He dropped the tome on the wooden surface and hunched over it, humming softly to himself. “It should be somewhere around here.”

“What?” Bond walked over to him and looked down at the pages over his shoulder. “Is that a family tree?”

“Vauxhall’s Royal family tree.” 

“And why are we looking at it?” He rested his hands on Q’s hips, tilting his head to the side.

“Because, James, I think Vauxhall does have an heir to the throne.” Q turned around to look at him with a small smirk and pointed at a name written down on the page.

“Mallory?”

“Yes!” Q exclaimed. “He’s her…” He had to stop and take another look at the family tree to figure it out. “...Third cousin once removed!”

“You say that like it means something. In English, Q.” 

He rolled his eyes. “M’s great grandfather and Mallory’s great great grandfather were brothers.”

“Ah, there we go. That wasn’t so difficult, was it?” James hummed, grabbing the book to take a proper look at it. “And there isn’t anyone else in between them?”

Q shook his head in response, crossing his arms over his chest and toying with the blue necklace he wore around his neck. “No, as far as I know, M had no living relatives.”

“And how did you know about Mallory then?” James asked curiously, looking up at Q and smirking at the image of the sorcerer wearing his blue shirt.

Q tugged the loose garment down, trying to cover more of his body as he blushed lightly. “Stop that, Bond… I just… It came to me. Things usually do. That isn’t important right now, though. No one can find out about this, especially not Silva. Mallory has to fight and prove himself worthy of Vauxhall’s throne. If he does, if he leads his army to victory, he  _ will  _ become our next king.”

James nodded as he set the book down on the desk again, carefully closing it. “Well, I guess that’s settled then… Their camp is in Curbar, about a two days ride away from here. We are going to have to leave soon if we want to warn them of our plans and start forming some sort of strategy before riding to Vauxhall.”

“We can leave tomorrow morning, it doesn’t take me too long to pack.” Q replied.

“We will also need another horse.”

“Leave that to me.”

The sorcerer smirked and behind him, Archimedes meowed in protest.

James looked down at the book again and furrowed his eyebrows. He had been planning on telling Q about the prophecy, but he was right about one thing, prophecies usually fulfilled themselves. Alec had already messed with this one enough by pushing James towards Q, who knew what would happen if James meddled with it again.


	9. Vauxhall's Lion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Sir.” One of the sentinels called as he stepped into the tent. Mallory was up and about like he usually was at night, studying the movements of Silva’s armies and planning where to move next to avoid getting caught by them. “Sir Bond is back. He’s not alone.”

* * *

Q wasn’t kidding about not taking too long to pack. Once the two of them had dressed up and stepped out of the cottage along with Archimedes, all it had taken to shrink the entire place to the size of an orange had been a spell that the sorcerer had performed with ease. He picked up the miniature cottage from the ground and handed it over to James, who put it in one of Aston’s saddlebags after giving it a thorough examination and nearly dropping it into a puddle of molten snow.

Next was the matter of needing another horse.

James was starting to wonder if another trip to the village would be necessary to secure themselves another horse when Q picked up Archimedes and set the cat down in front of them, telling the stubborn feline to stay still.

“What are you doing?” He asked the sorcerer, frowning in confusion and stepping closer.

Q pushed him away and shook his head, pushing up the long sleeves of his cloak. “Let me focus, Bond. Archimedes doesn’t want to end up an elephant.”

“What? Wait, Q—” His interjection came too late, for the sorcerer had already casted a spell on the poor cat, suddenly making him start to change shape and grow in size to become a completely different animal.

His short muzzle became longer and longer while his whiskers disappeared entirely and his hair seemed to shorten everywhere except for the top of his head and along the back of his neck, where it lengthened to make a lustrous copper crest. Claws turned into hooves as his vertical pupils slowly turned until they were horizontal lines in his bright yellow eyes. He opened his mouth and what sounded like the beginning of a meow left his lips before it quickly turned into a neigh.

“There we go! I had always wanted to try that.” Q exclaimed proudly, brushing off his hands before he looked back at James and Aston only to see that the two had taken a few steps back and were watching the transformation in horror.

“Oh, get over yourselves.” The young man rolled his eyes and snapped his fingers to make a saddle appear on Archimedes’ back. He stepped closer and made sure it was tight enough before getting on the horse and turning to James. “Come on! We don’t have all day.”

The soldier blinked a few times and hurried to shake his head as a shudder ran down his spine. He took a hold of Aston’s reins and got on top of him before he started riding side by side with Q, going deep into the forest. The two of them wore their hoods over their heads to avoid being recognised, aware of how dangerous Silva had made traveling through Vauxhall over the last year, what with all the spies he had keeping an eye out for enemies of the crown.

They rode at a steady pace throughout the entire day and only stopped a couple of times to allow the horses to drink from streams and rest for a few minutes before continuing on their way to the rebel camp in Curbar, halfway between Duror and Vauxhall’s capital. They rode for two days straight until they arrived at the camp in the middle of the night. The two were approached by a couple of sentinels who recognised James immediately after he removed his hood and led him and Q to Mallory’s tent.

“Sir.” One of the sentinels called as he stepped into the tent. Mallory was up and about like he usually was at night, studying the movements of Silva’s armies and planning where to move next to avoid getting caught by them. “Sir Bond is back. He’s not alone.”

Mallory narrowed his eyes and straightened up, keeping the tips of his fingers on the map of the kingdom stretched over his desk. “Who’s with him?” He asked cautiously.

The sentinel looked down nervously and took a deep breath before answering his superior’s question. “A sorcerer, sir.”

The rebel’s eyes widened and he immediately rushed out of the tent, pushing past the sentinel. James and Q stood outside, taking cover in the darkness of the night, with only half of their faces illuminated by a nearby torch.

“Mallory.” James greeted him with a short nod.

“Bond… we all thought you were dead. Moneypenny told us what happened.”

“She’s here?” The blond asked, feeling a wave of relief wash over him after hearing that the young woman had made it out of the Fallen attack.

Mallory nodded in response looking at the hooded figure standing next to James before he gestured towards his tent. “Let’s go inside so we can talk.” He prompted, leading the way.

Once inside, he turned towards the sentinel and ordered him to alert Eve of their arrival. The young man rushed out of the tent and left the three of them alone, just in time for Q to push his hood back and reveal his face.

“You are… younger than I thought you would be.” Mallory murmured, trying his very best not to offend the sorcerer of whose powers and abilities he had only heard of previously from those who had known him firsthand.

James looked down at the ground to conceal the smirk tugging at his lips and nodded in agreement while Q sighed and resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the comment. “Yes, I get that quite often.” He mumbled.

“Anyway…” Mallory shook his head, “You two got here just in time. We are moving North tomorrow morning. Yesterday our scouts spotted Silva’s army Southwest from here.”

James and Q shared a knowing look before the blond shook his head and spoke up.”You can’t.”

“And why is that, Bond?” Mallory crossed his arms over his chest, frowning deeply.

“You have to head Southeast. To the capital.”

“Have you lost it?”

“Most likely, but that is not the point.” Q said. “We’re taking Silva down once and for all.”

The three looked at each other in complete silence as they considered what had just been said. Finally, Mallory sighed and sat down behind his enormous desk, taking a sip of wine from the cup resting by the map. “Do you have a plan?” He asked them.

“Not rea—” James started before Q interrupted him, stepping forwards to stand face to face with the true heir to Vauxhall’s throne.

“—I do. But it requires as many people as possible. Every man and woman capable of fighting.”

Behind him, Moneypenny stepped into the tent, smiling softly when she saw James standing there safe and sound. Her gaze fell upon Q then and her small smile turned into a triumphant smirk. ‘Well done’ She mouthed at James, making her way to Mallory. “You called, Sir?”

The man nodded, dragging his eyes away from Q and looking at the young woman in front of him. “How many troops do we have at our disposition?”

She furrowed her eyebrows lightly. “About… two hundred, at the moment.”

Mallory nearly winced, rubbing his eyes.

“We could probably rally another fifty if we waited a day or two.” Eve tried to make it better, but the numbers weren’t exactly uplifting. Q looked at her and offered her a gentle smile, nodding.

“That will do.” He said. “Your army only needs to be able to take on Silva’s Fallen army. James and I will handle the rest.”

“The dragons, you mean.” Mallory scoffed incredulously, nodding. “Yeah, right.”

“Sir.” James stepped forward. “With all due respect, you have no idea what this man is truly capable of. I trust him with my life. And I trust him with the kingdom’s fate.” 

Q looked at him, green eyes wide in surprise. After everything he had done in the past, James had no reason to say something like that about him. He could have called him a coward, a traitor or doubted his magic like Mallory had, but instead he was standing right by his side in support of him. He brushed his fingers against the soldier’s discreetly and smiled, murmuring a soft  _ “Thank you”  _ inside his mind.

_ “It’s true.”  _ The blond thought in response, his expression unchanging.

“Me too.” Eve said suddenly, glancing at Q and nodding. “Sir, there is no one more capable in this entire kingdom of putting an end to this than these two men. I wouldn’t trust anyone else with the lives of your troops.”

The young sorcerer stepped forward, taking a wooden-carved figure that rested on the map —a lion, standing on its forelegs with a crown resting on his head— and blowing on it before he set it down again. As soon as the figure touched the surface again, it started coming to life. The miniature wooden lion shook his head and huffed softly, setting his eyes on the wooden dragon resting on the other side of the table. He let out a potent roar, for his size, and charged against the winged lizard, knocking it down on its side and immediately starting to bite and claw at the piece of wood until there were nothing but splinters. The lion then took his rightful place in Vauxhall's capital and sat there proudly before going still and turning back into a simple piece of wood.

They all turned to Mallory then, who raised his eyebrows and nodded slowly. “Alright. Gather as many people as you can. We march to the capital in two days.”


	10. Blue Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Hey…” Q whispered softly, picking up the cat and scratching behind his ears as he sat down on a fallen tree he had found. “You shouldn’t be out here alone.”
> 
> The cat looked up at him with wide eyes and huffed softly, making Q arch an eyebrow curiously. “No? Then who are you with?” He asked while he summoned a blue fire in front of him to keep warm while out there.
> 
> Archimedes chirped, rubbing himself against the young man who just chuckled. “Oh, I see. What a fine companion I am.”

* * *

Eve left the camp that very same night to be able to reach as many villages as possible and have more people join their army before they headed into battle. James had offered to join her and help gather troops, but Moneypenny had thought it would be better if he stayed and kept an eye on the camp while she was gone. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Mallory, but the more people defending it, the better.

Q also opposed him leaving, for obvious reasons. The sorcerer was anxious about facing Silva once more, not because he feared for his own life, but because he was scared he would fail his own kingdom again.

The two stayed in Eve’s tent while she was gone. It wasn’t exactly spacious, but it was large enough for the two of them to be comfortable for the night. They got in bed, under a layer of warm pelts and moved closer to each other. James fell asleep not too soon afterwards, tired after riding for so long and having to be alert. He could finally relax and he was going to take advantage of that. Q on the other side, could not find it in himself to want to submerge in that murky kingdom of dreams. There were too many things going on inside his mind for him to be able to just close his eyes and fall asleep like James had. He tried. For a couple of hours he laid there and tried his very best to fall asleep, but in the end he gave up and stole away, deep into the woods where he felt at home. 

Archimedes —who had been transformed back to his original shape upon arriving at the camp— followed him, rubbing himself against the sorcerer’s ankles and purring softly.

“Hey…” Q whispered softly, picking up the cat and scratching behind his ears as he sat down on a fallen tree he had found. “You shouldn’t be out here alone.”

The cat looked up at him with wide eyes and huffed softly, making Q arch an eyebrow curiously. “No? Then who are you with?” He asked while he summoned a blue fire in front of him to keep warm while out there.

Archimedes chirped, rubbing himself against the young man who just chuckled. “Oh, I see. What a fine companion I am.”

“Indeed.”

Q turned around as soon as he heard a voice behind him. He already had a ball of blue fire burning brightly in the palm of his hand, ready to throw it at the attacker, but as soon as he realised it was only James who had sneaked up on him, the fireball died out and he smiled sheepishly.

“You scared me.” He said softly, patting the spot next to him on the fallen tree trunk for James to sit down. 

“Sorry, I just followed your footprints here. You shouldn’t be out here alone, though.”

“I am not alone.”

James arched an eyebrow at him and Q pointed down at Archimedes before chuckling softly. The soldier smiled, rolling his eyes playfully. “My mistake.” He moved closer to the dark-haired man and wrapped a pelt he had brought with him from the camp around his shoulders, pulling him closer. 

Q thanked him quietly, pulling the fur closer to his body and wrapping Archimedes in it in the process. “Did I wake you up?”

“Will it make you feel better if I say no?” James smiled and shook his head, waving dismissively. “Don’t worry about it. I’m a light-sleeper. You on the other side, aren’t. What’s going on?”

“A lot.” Q sighed.

“Want to talk about it?” The soldier offered, but the sorcerer refused, shaking his head slowly. “Want to talk about something else then?”

“Like what?”

“Like… can you actually talk to that cat?” James pointed at Archimedes, who meowed softly.

“You mean if I can understand him?” Q asked, tilting his head to the side in confusion. It sounded like a very silly question to him. “Yes, of course. In the same way I can understand Aston.”

“You—Okay, we’re going to leave that discussion for another time. That’s a lot to unpack and I’m not entirely sure if I want to know what Aston has been telling you. What does having magic feel like?” James asked curiously.

The sorcerer faltered, looking down at the ground and furrowing his eyebrows. “I’m not entirely sure I can answer that. I don’t really know what  _ not  _ having magic feels like. I have never experienced anything different, but I guess I could say it involves a lot of different sensations and feelings.”

“It must be amazing.”

“Yes, it is.” Q smiled softly. “It’s very lonely, though.”

Bond tilted his head to the side, shifting to be able to look at him properly. “How come?”

“Well…" He took a deep breath. "There aren't many people in the world who can understand magic. And when those who do end up like Silva…" He looked up at James with his bright green eyes and swallowed hard. "Sometimes I worry I'll end up just like him."

Bond felt his heart swell at the sight and couldn't stop himself from wrapping his arms around the young sorcerer, pulling him closer to him. "Q… I know you and I know that would never happen. Not now and not in a million years. You're too good a man to end up like Silva."

A small smile tugged at Q's lips as he leaned closer to the blond, nuzzling his neck.

"James?"

"Mm?"

"I love you." He whispered, so softly his voice was barely audible to the blonde sitting next to him.

James looked at the raven-haired sorcerer in surprise, his body filling with an unexpected warmth at the sound of those words, as if he had been charmed. It wasn't magic that coursed through the soldier's veins as he looked into Q's eyes, admiring them in the blue glow from the fire beside them. It was love, a feeling he had thought would never make an appearance in his life ever again after the last time he had given his heart away.

He reached up with one hand, silently caressing the young man's cheek with the pad of his thumb while he leaned down to brush their lips together, barely allowing them to touch.

"I love you too." He murmured, stealing a kiss from the sorcerer's lips, only for the young man to smile and steal it back.

As they breathlessly parted after a few long moments, Q shifted to lay on his back on the large tree trunk, resting his head on the soldier's lap. James covered him and the cat with the pelt once again and laid his arm across Q's chest, holding him protectively.

The three spent the night out there, talking and keeping each other company until they saw the sun start to come out through the canopy, telling them it was time to make their way back to the camp. Hand in hand, they made their way back to find that only a few soldiers had risen, stepping out of their tents to find their way to a scarce breakfast.

Both the sorcerer and the blond soldier went into the tent they were occupying to wash and change into the garments they had been provided with. While Q replaced his white shirt for a similar one with ease and put on a pair of old grey trousers, James had a bit more trouble replacing his blue Royal guard uniform which had been his companion for most of the past year, bringing some sense of normality even if there was no Royal Guard left to serve.

After he finally put his uniform aside and pulled on a set of fresh clothes —a white linen shirt, wine red trousers and a matching coat— Q stepped closer to him and took his hand, squeezing it gently. Bond looked up at him and offered the sorcerer a soft smile as Q laid his free hand on his chest, right above his heart.

When he removed his hand, James looked down to see Vauxhall's Royal Guard's golden insignia, exactly like the one embroidered on his blue jacket.

"Q…" He whispered as a wide grin tugged at his lips.

"As long as it means something for you, James, it will mean something for us." The young man whispered, tracing the embroidery with his fingertips. "Vauxhall still needs you to look after it. And so do I."

"To look after Vauxhall or after you?" Bond asked him teasingly, making Q smile softly.

"Both. Definitely both." He laughed.

The sound of a horse galloping at full speed into the camp interrupted their short-lived moment of joy. Immediately, the two of them stepped outside of the tent to see what was going on.

Eve had just arrived, but there was no army following her. She jumped off her horse immediately, handing the reins to the first soldier she came across and running straight into Mallory's tent.

"Was that..." Q started asking, but before he could finish James was already running after her. "I'll take that as a yes." He sighed, following the blond a moment later.

"Slow down! Where did you see them?" Mallory said, attempting to extract the information that Eve had brought back with her.

"Right across the valley! I was coming back from Baslow when I saw them!" She exclaimed.

"What is going on?" James asked as he stepped into the tent, holding it open for Q, who was only a few steps behind him.

"An entire battalion of Fallen soldiers is heading our way. They'll be here by this evening." She said, turning to James. "We have to leave or they'll massacre us here."

Right after that they all turned to Mallory, waiting for him to tell them what to do with that information. "We're not even sure they were heading here." He said even though he knew the chances of them being able to spend another night in that camp were almost nonexistent.

"Don't. We all know it isn't safe here." James snapped, calming down slightly after he felt Q's hand on his arm . "We have to leave before they get here."

"We won't be able to stop again until we get to the capital." Mallory sighed, rubbing his face. "We are going to have to march straight into battle if we leave before tonight."

Q nodded slowly, crossing his arms over his chest. "How long will it take us to reach the castle?" He asked quietly, already thinking of another plan.

Mallory pursed his lips in thought as he looked down at the map. "Taking into account the fact that we have to go around the mountains? It'll take us two days and our troops will be exhausted by the time we arrive. I say three days if we want to stand a chance."

"They'll catch up with us by then." James grumbled and Eve nodded in agreement.

"Would your soldiers be able to fight if we arrived by tomorrow night?" Q asked, fixing his eyes on the map and pushing his glasses up his nose.

"How would we even do that?" The rebel scoffed.

"Would they?" Q insisted.

Mallory sighed, nodding lightly. "Most likely, yes."

Q started removing everything that rested on the map and rolled it into a large tube before tucking it under his arm. He turned around to head out of the tent and stopped right before crossing the threshold, turning minimally to look back over his shoulder. "Tell your troops to be ready. We must leave immediately."

With that ominous warning, he left the tent and the three soldiers to their own devices. James turned to M and Eve, giving them a short nod before following Q out and hurrying to catch up with him.

"What's the plan?" He asked.

The sorcerer turned around, his eyes acquiring a light glow in broad daylight that let James know he wasn't kidding.

"We're marching our army through the mountains."


	11. The Map

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “No?” The older man raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Who’s in charge here?”
> 
> “You are, but if you turn around now, you will be responsible for the deaths of all those people. Are you prepared to carry that in your conscience? More importantly, are you prepared to lose Vauxhall forever?” The young man replied bluntly as he pushed his glasses up his nose.

* * *

They left while the sun was still high up in the sky, shining above them and lighting their path to the mountains standing between them and Vauxhall's capital. Mallory led the way, riding on a jet black horse that looked almost as proud as the man himself. Eve had stayed in the back along with James and Q to make sure no one fell behind and to keep an eye out for ambushes.

"How did you manage to find him then?" She asked quietly and nodded towards Q, making James smile softly.

"I didn't. Not really." He admitted as he shook his head.

"What do you mean you didn't?" Eve cocked her head to the side, looking at the blond curiously.

"He found me near Duror and took care of me when I was wounded.”

“Far up north. What was he doing there?” She asked, her gaze straying and coming to rest on the sorcerer now riding a few meters ahead of them. 

“It seemed he had been helping the people from a nearby village.” James smiled to himself, looking down at the ground. “They all loved him so much there.”

Moneypenny glanced at him and smirked. “I can see the people in the village weren’t the only ones who fell in love with him.” She hummed, quirking an eyebrow at James teasingly.

The soldier rolled his eyes as a light blush spread across his face. “Eve…”

“Don’t start, we can all see it. It’s not like you two are any good at hiding it.” She chuckled softly. 

Hearing her, Q glanced back and raised his eyebrows. James gave him a perfectly innocent look and shrugged, moving his finger by his temple as if to say ‘she’s insane’. The sorcerer laughed quietly and actually nodded in agreement, but unfortunately for him, Eve looked over in that moment and noticed. 

"Oi!" She nudged James. "You two act like children."

"Says the one asking me to spill the beans on my love life.” James hummed softly, looking at her with a raised eyebrow.

“So you do have one!” Eve scoffed. “I knew it.”

James rolled his eyes, urging Aston on to catch up with Q. Archimedes was riding inside one of the horse’s saddlebags, just popping his head out to look around curiously and meowing every now and then. Every now and then Q would reach down and pet him or talk to him to keep him calm.

“How is he doing down there?” James asked, looking down at the feline and then at his owner with a raised eyebrow.

Q smiled softly at the blonde and shook his head lightly. “A bit dizzy, he’s been complaining about it for an hour now.” The sorcerer chuckled softly, scratching behind the cat’s ears as he leaned down.

He looked up again just in time to stop his horse when he noticed that the entire army marching ahead started to slow to a stop. Both James and him shared a look and immediately broke out of their row to move towards the front, where M was. The rebel leader had gotten off his horse and was looking up at the steep climb of a mountain ahead of them, shaking his head slowly while he scowled. The blond soldier and the sorcerer joined him, jumping off their horses to inquire as to why they had stopped before realising they had reached a dead end.

“It’s impossible.” Mallory huffed, pulling his black leather gloves off and walking back to Q. “We have to turn and go around before it’s too late.”

“No.” The sorcerer replied, maintaining his cool as always. 

“No?” The older man raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Who’s in charge here?”

“You are, but if you turn around now, you will be responsible for the deaths of all those people. Are you prepared to carry that in your conscience? More importantly, are you prepared to lose Vauxhall forever?” The young man replied bluntly as he pushed his glasses up his nose.

Mallory faltered, stopping dead in his tracks and turning around to look at Q. His expression had changed entirely, much to the raven-haired man’s satisfaction. “What exactly do you propose we do then?”

Q walked up to James and leaned close to him, close enough to whisper into his ear without anyone else being able to listen. “I need the map Aston’s carrying.”

The soldier nodded without daring to question him and walked to his own horse, keeping a wary eye on Mallory, who seemed more and more desperate by the second. He was starting to wonder if he would be a fit sovereign for the kingdom, but like Q had said, the man had yet to prove himself worthy of the position through the upcoming battle. James grabbed the rolled up map and took it to the sorcerer, who opened it and extended it on the dirty ground, kneeling down on the dirt.

“Help me keep it outstretched.” He told James, who knelt down by his side just a second later. “Thank you.” 

“Mhm” The blond nodded softly, watching how Q’s long fingers traced over the ridges and mountains drawn on the large parchment. “What are you going to do?”

Q never answered his question, but he pressed his palm to the drawing of the mountain right in front of him. The piece of parchment seemed to fuse with the ground, turning into rocks and dirt as the drawings grew to acquire a real relief. Soon, the two were kneeling in front of a replica of the kingdom carved from rocks in the ground.

Mallory wandered close and watched in amazement the work of the sorcerer, pursing his lips to avoid making any sounds that might embarrass him. 

"A knife." Q suddenly said. " I need a knife or a dagger." 

James shook his head and looked around, he only carried his sword around with him, but never a knife. The sorcerer was about to turn to the rest of the footsoldiers when Mallory handed him a sheathed dagger with a black ivory grip.

"Will this one do?" He asked as the young man took it and examined the finely crafted blade.

Q looked up at the owner of the dagger and nodded. "Perfectly well." He said turning to look down at the map of Vauxhall again. He took a deep breath and with a surgeon's precision, carved a path through the mountain. As the excess soil and rocks fell back to the ground, they disappeared without a trail.

James watched carefully, but it wasn't until he started hearing the murmurs of the soldiers behind them that he looked up and realised that part of the mountain, just like in the miniature rock model, was missing. "Are you—"

"—Yup." Q nodded, glancing up to see his work reflected on the mountain ahead, but without losing his focus on what he was doing. He finished with the first mountain and continued carving a path for their army until the way to Vauxhall was clear.

"Is it safe to move on?" Mallory asked as he approached him.

Q nodded softly, pointing at the map as he slowly got up and handed him the dagger back. "Yes, but we must make sure this map remains untouched. Even a pebble falling on it could make everything crumble."

As he said that, he picked up a handful of fine dirt and let it fall on the spot where they were. A dark cloud of dust appeared above them, making everyone cough. 

"Point taken." James coughed softly, covering his mouth and nose with his sleeve to keep more dust from finding its way into his body.

"I'll stay behind and catch up with the rest of you once you've made it past the mountains." Q said then, casting another spell to protect the map. A semitraslucid dome appeared over it, acting like a force field and keeping everything away from it.

The blond soldier frowned and shook his head right away. "Not a chance, we need you at the front. I'm not letting you out of my sight."

As adorable as that was, it was also mildly annoying for the sorcerer, who just wanted to take the army safely to Vauxhall. His own safety wasn't his main concern at the moment, plus, he was pretty sure nothing could happen to him there.

"I'll join you sooner than you know. I promise." Q whispered, taking James' hand and giving it a gentle squeeze.

The soldier, however, shook his head and refused to give in. "I'm not leaving you here all by yourself, Q. If you insist on staying, I will stay with you."

He couldn't say it wasn't a noble gesture, and one that made the sorcerer wish that Mallory wasn't watching them so he could snog James and thank him properly. But on the other side, the practical one, it was terribly inconvenient for the two most valuable assets the army had to stay behind and leave them unprotected while they marched into battle.

Q parted his lips to protest, but James didn't seem ready to let him win that one. "It wasn't a question, Q." He murmured, making it clear that his position was unmovable.

"But—"

"Like you said, we'll catch up with the rest of them in no time."

The sorcerer resisted the urge to roll his eyes and nodded softly, taking a deep breath. "As you wish…" He mumbled before turning to Mallory and nodding.

The rebel leader turned to his troops and signalled for them to follow him as he got on his horse and once again started riding, going into the narrow passageway Q had carved for them. James pulled both Aston and Q's horse to the side and turned to the young man, who was watching intently as the two hundred soldiers or so marched past them. Finally, when he saw Eve, he ran towards her, taking off the pendant around his neck and handing it to her.

"What is this?" She asked the sorcerer as she inspected the shiny blue stone she had just been handed.

"Once you have reached the other side, touch it and I'll know it's safe to join you." Q explained, looking up at the young woman and offering her a small smile. "Be careful."

She smiled back, nodding as she carefully put the necklace on. "You too. Look after him." She nodded towards James, making the young man laugh softly.

"I'll do my best. He's too stubborn for me to be able to make any promises."

"Of course." Eve laughed. "I'll see you soon."

With those last words, she urged her horse on and caught up with the rest of the army, leaving the two men alone behind the tall mountains keeping them from reaching their city.

The sorcerer turned to James and pointed at a group of rocks nearby. "We should probably make ourselves comfortable, it will take them at least four hours to get across the mountains."

"Are you hungry?" James asked as he moved away from the map and pulled some bread from Aston's saddlebag, tossing some at Q. The sorcerer caught it and broke it into small pieces to eat, thanking the blond quietly. Behind him, Archimedes jumped out of his traveling compartment and onto the ground, where he started chasing after a butterfly that was flying too low.

James kept his eyes on Q the whole time, taking a few bites off his own piece of bread. "Are you alright?" He asked him quietly, surprising the sorcerer slightly.

"Why do you ask?" Q sat down next to James, looking down at his bread for a long time before finally deciding to use some magic to add some flavour to it and sweeten it.

James shrugged lightly, watching carefully the way in which Q's fingers moved while he casted the spell. He liked to see him use his magic, it always made him feel like he was being let in on a secret. "Just checking on you."

Q took a bite of bread and smiled softly at the blond soldier, reaching up to brush some crumbs away from his chin. "Thank you." He whispered softly

Bond nodded, running a hand through his hair and glancing at the map before he looked at Q again. "Can I ask you a question?"

The sorcerer raised his eyebrows and nodded. "Of course."

"Do you have a plan to take on Silva and the dragons? Or are we just planning on… winging it?" The soldier asked hesitantly, watching Q as he waited for a response.

The sorcerer instead took his time to reply, looking up and the sky and watching a hawk that flew high above them, he lowered his head then and looked at Archimedes as he climbed onto a nearby tree and tried to hit that very same yellow butterfly that kept fluttering around as if it enjoyed teasing the feline.

"If I take down the dragons, can you slay them? They're magical beings, but when Silva enslaved those two creatures, he also made them unable to cast any spells, so we can use that in our favour." Q explained. "Binding them with magic shouldn't be too hard."

"I'll take care of them as soon as they hit the ground, don't worry. What about Silva?" James cocked his head to the side, finishing his food and resting his hand on Q's thigh.

"Taking care of him won't be so easy." The raven-haired man murmured, handing the last piece of his bread to Archimedes, who had just made his way back to him. "Our best bet is to seize his staff. Without it, he shouldn't be nearly as strong as he regularly is."

As Q spoke, James watched his hands, looking for any signs of the curse. It wasn't visible, though. Q didn't want anyone else to know about it, too scared that they wouldn't trust him anymore. "James…" He sighed, having read his mind after noticing how little attention he was paying. 

The blond looked up and raised his eyebrows slightly, fluttering his eyelashes innocently. "How are you feeling?" He asked before the sorcerer could have a chance to scold him.

"I'm fine." Q groaned.

"Are you really?" James insisted, reaching up to gently try and hold his head steady so he could take a better look at his eyes. "Or are you just saying that so I'll stop asking?"

"Don't be ridiculous." Q pushed his hands away and rolled his eyes. "I just haven't had enough sleep, that's all." The sorcerer looked down at the ground and used magic to leisurely levitate a stick he found there, using it to draw on the dirt.

"I thought we were being sincere…" The soldier mumbled, brushing off his trousers. Q looked at him in surprise and nodded almost incredulously.

"We are! I just… I don't want you to go into battle worrying about me and Silva, an entire army of undead soldiers and two bloody dragons. It's too much." The young man sighed, meeting James' icy gaze with his own muddy green eyes.

"I will always worry about you, Q. And I'll be much more calm knowing how you really are rather than wondering if you're just going to drop dead in the middle of the battle—"

"—I'm not!" The sorcerer huffed.

"Just saying." Bond raised his hands in mock surrender. "I'm just trying to look out for you like you've done for me, would you please let me?" He reached for his hands and gently took them in his own, never taking his eyes away from Q's.

The bespectacled man took a deep breath and nodded slowly. "I… yes." He whispered, lowering his gaze and looking at how perfectly their hands fit together. "Of course."

"Thank you." James brought his hands up to his lips and pressed tender kisses to his knuckles. "Everything will be alright, you'll see." He pulled him into his arms and hugged him tightly, breathing in his scent as he rubbed his back soothingly.

"Promise?"

"I swear."


	12. Back to Vauxhall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "If you're going to keep doubting me, I'm going to send you back with Mallory and Eve." The sorcerer huffed, looking up at the nervous soldier, who already had his sword in his hand, ready for the fight.
> 
> "I was just asking."
> 
> "I was just asking." Q mocked him quietly, finally stepping back and looking up at the hawk that flew above them.

* * *

Two hours had gone by since Mallory's army had exited the passage Q had created for them. They had all stopped about a mile ahead and were resting for as long as they could while they waited for the other two members of the rebellion to catch up with them.

Eve held the pendant Q had given her in her hands, turning it over and over again while staring at the rock as if it was somehow capable of doing something other than just hanging from the fine silver chain Q wore it on.

"Are we sure they're coming?" Mallory asked impatiently, looking up at the sky as the sun began setting in the horizon.

His second-in-command nodded, showing him the bright blue crystal she held. "Q said I should touch it once we had crossed safely and that's what I did."

"So that's a no." The rebel leader murmured, clicking his tongue. "For all we know they're still back there waiting for us."

Just as he said that, the sound of hooves hitting the ground started echoing all around the mountain passage until both James and Q darted out of there, each riding their own horse.

"We have to go!" Q yelled, barely managing to slow down before his horse could stomp on all the soldiers resting ahead. "We closed the passage, but they're right behind us!"

"Who?" Mallory asked cluelessly.

"Silva's army!" James said, hurrying to get the rest of the soldiers on their feet and ready to go while Mallory and Eve got ready to continue.

Less than five minutes later, they were all flying down the roads that led to the woods surrounding the capital. But as they were reaching the edge of the forest and getting a taste of freedom and tranquility, the sound of hundreds upon hundreds of boots and steel swords clashing with each other started to catch up with them.

“We can’t outrun them, we have to turn and fight!” Mallory yelled, his hand going to his sword to unsheathe it. 

“Not yet! They’ll have the upper hand in the woods!” James replied, sticking close to Q and making sure the sorcerer never left his side.

"Where then?" The rebel huffed, urging his black horse on.

James looked over his shoulder at their army and then looked ahead once more

He could already see the castle's towers ahead, standing tall and proud, ready to welcome everyone into the capital of the great kingdom that Vauxhall had always been. "Ahead! We can fight them closer to the city!" He said, picking up the pace and gesturing for Q to follow him.

"What are you doing, Silva will see us coming from miles away!" The young man exclaimed, shaking his head.

"That's the point! We'll get his attention and draw the dragons towards us so they can't pin our army against the city walls!" The blond replied, gesturing towards the ramparts surrounding the citadel, the same ones they had used to their advantage thousands of times before.

"I knew I liked you for a reason." Q hummed teasingly, smiling warmly at the knight riding by his side. While he could recite any spell he had ever read and cast it with ease, war strategies were definitely James' forte, especially under pressure and in a moment like that one.

"Oh sure, you only like me because of that." Bond scoffed, rolling his eyes playfully and shaking his head.

Q was chuckling softly when he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest, like his ribcage was being crushed. He nearly fell off his horse, but managed to wrap an arm around the animal's neck as he gasped for air. It was then that he saw them, the curse marks on his hands were as clear as day, like fresh ink on his skin. His lungs were on fire and he could feel the pain growing with every heartbeat. For a moment, he thought he was going to pass out. He wished he would, just to avoid feeling the growing pain that kept expanding all over his body.

Then, just as quickly as it had appeared, the pain went away entirely, leaving the breathless sorcerer clinging to his horse and panting for breath.

"Q?" James called his name when he looked his way and saw the young man as pale as the clouds in the sky and struggling not to simply slide off the horse. "What's going on?"

"The curse…" He panted.

The soldier leaned over and took the reins of Q's horse, guiding it aside and slowing down. "You can't fight like this."

"I have to." Q winced softly, pushing himself upright.

The blond parted his lips, ready to protest and fight the young sorcerer on the subject, but one look into his green eyes deterred him from doing so. "Fine." He murmured, looking away. "We have to hurry up then, before you get worse… And don't even think I'm leaving your side."

A small smirk tugged at the sorcerer's lips. "I wouldn't dream of it…"

James handed him back the reins of his horse as the two resumed their race to the capital, sticking to riding right behind Q so he could always keep an eye on him.

The city grew in size as they got closer and closer until the two of them were just meters away from the enormous gates keeping them from entering.

"Can you get us in?" James asked, his eyes up in the sky and watching out for any signs of Silva's dragons.

The question was unnecessary, for as soon as they got close enough, Q leaned over, set a hand on James' shoulder and with the help of a simple spell made them disappear.

"Wai—"

He could see and feel everything around him twist into a blur before it disappeared and the next thing he knew, James was standing high above on one of the wall's vigilance posts. Q let go of his shoulder and stepped away just in time to avoid getting his shoes splashed with what little the soldier had had for breakfast.

"Sorry, jumping can be a bit rough the first few times you do it." Q scrunched up his nose, turning to Archimedes, who stood by his side, looking just as dazed as James. "I promise I'll warn you next time. Both of you."

The cat meowed angrily as Q picked him up and looked into his bright yellow eyes. "Yeah, I know I said that would be the last time, but I need your help." The sorcerer said.

Bond raised his head as he recovered and watched in astonishment how the cat practically rolled his eyes before the sorcerer simply tossed him off the edge of the wall. "What are you doing?!" James screamed, rushing to the ledge to see, not a cat falling, but a hawk with feathers the same colour as Archimedes' fur, spreading his wings to take to the sky and fly high above them.

The soldier let out a sigh of relief, closing his eyes and resting against the stone ledge for a moment while he tried to get his heartbeat to slow down."I thought you had gone insane there for a minute." He murmured, turning to look at Q and raising an eyebrow.

"Not yet." He replied, smirking softly.

James shook his head softly as he turned to look at Archimedes, watching how he flew towards their army and then back to the castle.

"He'll be our eyes in the sky." Q said right before setting his hand on James' shoulder and jumping again.

The soldier opened his eyes to find himself somewhere dark this time and for a moment, he wondered if something had gone terribly wrong and they were somehow dead or trapped behind a wall.

"James? You're stepping on me."

Not so wrong then. As his eyes began adjusting to the low amount of light, he began to realise that they had actually ended up inside a wardrobe in someone's house. He pushed open the door and looked around, frowning. The house must've spent the entirety of the previous year empty, everything that hadn't been looted was covered in cobwebs or broken. Q followed him out and brushed off his clothes, clearing his throat softly. "I was aiming for the street, but I can see that something went wrong…"

"You think so?" James murmured in a sarcastic tone, heading downstairs.

"Just a hiccup." The sorcerer frowned. "The dragons have to be somewhere in the castle, but we need to get their attention."

The soldier turned to him, smirking devilishly. "I think I know exactly how to do that."

Q had known of James' potential for disaster and creating chaos, but he had never had the honour of witnessing him firsthand in action quite like that. His idea was pretty ingenious, he had to admit it, and most importantly, sure to annoy the hell out of Silva, who up until that moment seemed to have remained unfazed by the army's attempts at making it through the gate. 

That was about to change.

The two men stood in the middle of the deserted town square, looking up at the gigantic stained glass window of the throne room, where, judging by the shadows they could see behind it, they assumed Silva was lounging.

"Are you sure they'll get all the way up there?" James asked, watching over his shoulder as the young man worked.

"If you're going to keep doubting me, I'm going to send you back with Mallory and Eve." The sorcerer huffed, looking up at the nervous soldier, who already had his sword in his hand, ready for the fight.

"I was just asking."

"I was just asking." Q mocked him quietly, finally stepping back and looking up at the hawk that flew above them. He took a deep breath and turned to the soldier. "Ready?"

He received a soft nod in response and the cockiest "Always" he had ever heard in his entire life.

"Why do I even ask?" Q murmured to himself, crouching down and lighting a small, blue flame in the tip of his index finger. He carefully moved it closer to the fireworks propped up on the floor and aimed right at the window before taking a deep breath and lighting the short fuse. "Here goes nothing…"

James wrapped an arm around him and pulled him back and away from the fireworks immediately, waiting impatiently to see what would happen as the fuse grew shorter and shorter and the spark got closer and closer to the actual fireworks. "How did you say these worked again?" He asked, glancing at Q, who waved him off dismissively, eyes fixed on the spark.

"I'll explain later."

Suddenly and with a loud whistle, the rocket flew off its base and straight towards the castle, breaking the stained glass only to go off inside the throne room, filling it with coloured sparkles and smoke.

The longest pause followed as Q and James waited and observed. "Do you think it worked?" Bond asked quietly before he heard a loud roar from a dragon coming from the inside, followed by the ground shaking with footsteps and the rest of the stained glass window being shattered when the two furious creatures flew out of the castle, looking for the one responsible for the attack.

"Yep, it definitely did!" Q said as he raised his hands to cast a protection spell over them and shield them from the two dragons’ incoming firestorm. "Stay close to me."

"You don't need to say that twice." James murmured, tightening his grip on his sword. Despite the water shield Q casted, he could still feel the heat from the fire above them, making beads of sweat form on his tanned skin.

Behind them, by the gates, the fight had already started. Silva's army had finally caught up with Mallory and they were locked in a fierce battle. Now, they could only trust that they would be able to do their part by keeping the dragons' and Silva's attention on them.

"Whenever you feel like it, Q! No rush!" James called pressing his back against the sorcerer's. He was just waiting for the young man to bring down the beasts so he could do his part.

"It's not as easy as it seems!" Q replied fiercely.

"I can see that!"

The dragons finally stopped breathing fire on them, if only to take another breath and resume, but Q took the opportunity to make the two flying lizards crash against one another. The smallest one fell against the side of the castle, taking down a tower with him, while the largest one only shook his head and puffed smoke out of his nose.

"I think you only managed to make him angrier like that." Bond murmured, making Q look at him.

"No kidding. Take cover."

The two ran into an abandoned shop as fast as their legs would allow them to, but before James could inquire about their next move, Q was already making his way upstairs, towards the roof. "What are you—Wait!"

Needless to say, Q did not wait for him and James ended up having to run up the narrow staircase after the young sorcerer. He looked out the trap door, but ducked just in time to avoid the incoming flames. "Q!" He called, looking around until he spotted him running and jumping from one rooftop to another with a dragon nipping at his heels. "He's going to kill himself…" James mumbled to himself, rushing to step out onto the rooftop. He was quick to follow the bespectacled man, gripping his sword tightly and running as fast as he possibly could.

The dragons fought with fire from above while Q fought with water from below, but despite the beasts' large efforts to take him out, the sorcerer was barely getting started. The next time the dragon opened his mouth, he threw a jet of water down his throat, extinguishing the flames before they could even rise in his chest. The creature choked, slipping off the roof where he was standing and crashing hard in the middle of the streets, taking down a couple of small houses with his spread out wings.

"Bond!" Q yelled, looking back.

"On it!" He jumped onto the next house and slid down the roof tiles with surprising ease. In midair, he switched the sword in his hands and dug the blade deep into the dragon's chest when he fell on him, holding on tightly despite how much he thrashed around and screeched in pain.

James plunged the sword deeper, grunting at the effort, and held it in place until the reptile finally stopped moving and went limp, his monumental head raising a mountain of dust after it fell back with a loud noise.

The knight rose to his feet slowly as he caught his breath. He gripped the sword with both his hands and pulled it out of the dragon's ribcage before wiping the crimson blood off the blade on his trousers without concerning himself with the lasting stain. He then looked up at Q and nodded, a small smirk tugging at his lips. "Ready for the next one?"

"Always!" Q replied cheekily from above, winking at the soldier, who couldn't help but laugh and shake his head.

"Little shit…"

The sorcerer looked up at the sky where his hawk flew in circles, but there were no traces of the other dragon, who seemed to have disappeared all of a sudden when his companion was taken down. "Can you see him?" Q asked quietly, knowing that Archimedes would hear him no matter his volume thanks to the connection the two shared.

"I don't see it!" James called from below, looking around for the black dragon.

"By the gate!" Q suddenly said, sliding down the roof tiles just like James had done and landing right in the arms of his lover, who dropped his sword to catch him without even thinking twice about it. The sorcerer smiled and pecked his lips lovingly before jumping down to the ground. "Come on!"

The soldier rolled his eyes playfully, picking up his sword to run after Q. "Do you ever slow down?" He scoffed before rushing to catch up.

Q ran as fast as he could, but as soon James caught up with him, he offered his hand. "Take my hand! I'll transport us to the gate."

He didn't need to be told twice. James grabbed his hand and shut his eyes, feeling how his feet suddenly left the ground. As he opened his eyes again he found himself only a block away from the gate, hiding behind a tavern. Q ducked over the corner to see the dragon perched on the wall and attacking their army.

"If we don't hurry up, that thing will kill them all." James said. "Can you get it away from them?"

"Of course, I can." He scoffed in response, binding the dragon's wings with a spell and pulling him down. The earth rumbled as the beast hit the ground and roared.

"Hold it down!" James yelled and began running towards the dragon ready to kill it just like he had done with the last one while Q held it down with a spell. It should have been easy, had it not been for the curse that began acting up, sending a wave of pain all over the young man's body and making him double over. 

With James still clutching onto its neck, the dragon sprung up to the sky, flying high above the citadel while trying to shake the annoying soldier off his back. "Q!" Bond screamed, looking down at the ground where his sword was laying as he started losing his grip, digging his fingers between the scales on the dragon's spine.

The sorcerer focused on controlling the curse and pushing away the pain just so he could help the soldier but it refused to subside. He leaned against the exterior of the tavern, completely out of breath and struggling to stay upright.

"Come on, come on… Q!" James yelled again and he slipped further down and ended up gripping the dragon's tail. "Fuck!" He grit his teeth and did his best to hold on, but the animal made another effort to shake him off and Bond finally slipped, falling at a hundred miles an hour towards the cobblestone streets below.

Just before the soldier could reach his unsavoury end, the sorcerer casted a spell and broke his fall just a few inches away from the ground. The blond opened his eyes and sighed in relief, only to be dropped the remaining inches when Q failed to sustain the spell for long enough. He grunted softly and scrambled to his feet, grabbing his sword. "I'm fine." James mumbled sarcastically before noticing Q and rushing towards him.

"Is it the curse again?" He asked, wrapping an arm around the sorcerer and holding him upright as he recovered.

Q nodded quickly, wincing in pain. "I'm fine, I'm fine. I'll be okay." He hurried to say as the pain started subsiding and he managed to straighten up slowly. "We can't stop now. We can't leave them alone."

James watched him, his eyebrows furrowed in concern. As much as he wanted the dragon gone, Q remained his main concern.

"I can do this, Bond!" He insisted, making the soldier let go of him. "I can do this…" 

"Okay…" James nodded, slowly letting go of him, only when he was certain Q could stand on his own. "If you say so."

The sorcerer took a deep breath and straightened up, clenching his fists by his side. He looked up at the sky where the dragon flew and raised a hand, focusing all his energy on his next spell. Everyone on the ground was able to see the lightning that cracked down on the dragon through the darkening crepuscular sky, blinding light followed by a deafening roar.

James' eyes widened as he watched the creature plummet down and fall into the shallow waters of the harbour, on top of the burnt down wreckages of the very same boats the two creatures had destroyed just a year ago. He turned around, hearing the cries of victory from the army behind them, if only for a moment, for they were far from done with their own fight. There were still hundreds of Fallens on their feet and ready to continue fighting even if it seemed like it was over after the two dragons had been slain.

  
  



	13. The Staff

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fallen soldiers didn't have emotions, they didn't think for themselves and definitely didn't rebel against their master. Alec was different, though. He wasn't like the rest of them, to put it lightly. While he was still bound to Silva and forced to serve him, there would be moments in which he would be occasionally struck by a spark of free will, often in the middle of the night.

* * *

"Do I have to do everything myself?"

Silva's heavily accented voice echoed in the great hall as he made his way towards the castle's entrance, followed by an opaque eyed, blond soldier who walked tall behind him. 

"Didn't I tell you to cut them off before they could get here, Trevelyan?" The warlock turned around suddenly and shoved the fallen soldier against the wall, pressing his staff against the dead man's neck to keep him in place.

"Yes." Alec murmured, looking right into his eyes just for the sake of angering him even more.

"Yes, what?" Silva snarled, pressing so hard on the soldier's throat that he heard the man's windpipe crushing underneath it. He probably would've been in a lot of pain, were it not for the fact that he was already dead.

"Yes, sir." He croaked after a moment.

Fallen soldiers didn't have emotions, they didn't think for themselves and definitely didn't rebel against their master. Alec was different, though. He wasn't like the rest of them, to put it lightly. While he was still bound to Silva and forced to serve him, there would be moments in which he would be occasionally struck by a spark of free will, often in the middle of the night. It was like waking up from a dream, a sudden urge to break the chains that held him down. 

Lately, those sparks had been coming more and more frequently, allowing him to contact Bond through his dreams, one of the few advantages of being undead, his conscience could travel through different realities, dreams being one of them.

"Why do I even bother with all of you,  _ imbeciles _ ?" Silva hissed, moving away from Alec and shaking his head as he continued walking towards the door. "Just get back out there and take care of Bond! No mistakes! I want him dead! And leave the sorcerer, he's mine!"

Alec blinked a couple times, unable to stop himself from following Silva's orders. With a blank expression and his rusty sword in his hand, he left the castle through the servant's exit, moving silently down the empty streets of Vauxhall. After a few minutes, he heard the sound of boot heels clicking against the cobblestone streets and immediately, he turned to chase after the sound. He doubled a corner and found James heading towards the castle. Were he still alive, he probably would've felt sick by the realisation that it was his best friend that he had been ordered to kill, but he was absolutely empty, devoid of emotions. Alec grit his teeth and tightened his grip on the sword, suddenly making a run for the living soldier.

James turned around when he heard him, just in time to block a strike and avoid getting his head chopped off. But nothing could've prepared him for the shock that came afterwards when he looked up and realised that his attacker was none other than Alec Trevelyan. He barely had any time to process it before Alec jumped back and attacked him again, forcing James to guard himself.

All Bond could do was block the relentless blows Alec aimed at him, staring in awe until he finally managed to kick him away and knock him down to the ground. "Alec? You're… alive?" He panted breathlessly.

"Hardly…" The Fallen soldier mumbled as he rose, thankful he felt no pain whatsoever. He picked up his sword again and got ready to charge against him once more.

"Stop! Stop! What are you doing? It's me! James!" 

Alec stared at him and cocked his head to the side, he could hardly tell faces apart anymore, it was all a big colourless blur. "James…"

"Yes!"

"James." Alec stepped back, bringing a hand to his head as everything started spinning.

Bond kept his sword raised, holding it tightly in case Alec decided to attack again even if it seemed like he was having some sort of crisis. "Lower your sword, it's just me. You know me." He insisted, seeing that he was slowly managing to get through to him.

Alec finally gave in and started to lower the blade, staring at his old friend. "Where's Q?"

James quirked an eyebrow at him. "Not quite the welcome I expected… it's nice to see you too." He rolled his eyes, realising his old friend was back. 

"Yeah, yeah, where is he? You were supposed to bring him with you. It took you long enough to catch up, by the way. I thought you said you had read the Book of Prophecies." Alec insisted, stepping closer to Bond, who just rolled his eyes.

"He's somewhere around here. I lost him when Silva showed up and dragged him off." 

_ Brilliant… _

Alec huffed, realising that if they didn't find the sorcerer soon, they might just lose their only chance at defeating Silva once and for all.

They both suddenly looked back when they heard an explosion coming from the castle, followed by a bright red light. Without even thinking twice about it, James and Alec started running towards it as fast as they could, they both knew exactly what had caused the explosion.

"Take the servant's entrance! I'll take the front!" The Fallen soldier called.

James nodded and the two split up to surround the fighting wizards. Alec slowed to a stop as he entered, taking a moment to wipe any emotions off his face. He walked briskly until he reached the throne room, where the two were locked in a battle, with Q losing quickly. Silva had him cornered, using spell after spell to attack him while calling upon the curse to inflict more pain on him and debilitate the young sorcerer. 

"Sir!" Alec called, interrupting them and getting the warlock's attention away from the young man, if only for a few seconds, long enough for Q to catch a breath. "The army has breached the gate, they have wiped out our forces and they're coming into the city."

The warlock froze for a moment, giving Q more than enough time to shoot a spell at him and throw him all the way across the room. Alec rushed to the young sorcerer, who was ready to repeat that spell when he saw a Fallen soldier rushing over.

"I'm with you. I'm with you." Alec hurried to say, raising his hands in surrender while approaching. Q allowed him to help with up, letting out only a soft wince. The soldier looked down and frowned when he noticed the curse marks, but he didn't say anything, instead he moved out of the way to let Q cast a powerful spell that shattered all the windows in the room and threw the shards at Silva. 

The warlock hurried to grab his staff and raised it to block the attack, sending the shards right back at Q. Out of nowhere, James stepped out and pulled the young man behind a large rock pillar to keep the glass shards from reaching him.

"James—"

"—I've got you." He murmured quietly, shielding him with his own body and getting quite a few scratches in the process. Q wasn’t unharmed either. He had blood oozing down the side of his head, matting his hair and contrasting with his light green eyes. He gripped James’s arms and held on tightly as he regained his balance and caught his breath.

“We need to get his staff.” Q said, glancing back at where Silva stood. “Without it, he’s powerless.”

James turned back to the other soldier and nodded towards Silva. “The staff.” He said. 

“On it.”

Two was always better than one and with Alec on their side it would be much easier to get their hands on it. They moved all over the throne room like chess pieces, casting spells and avoiding getting hit by them. Alec and James tried to move closer, but Silva had his eyes on them, even with Q distracting him. It seemed like he was too powerful, even for the three of them combined. They couldn’t manage to get anywhere near him, much less get their hands on the staff, and with Silva‘s attacks being continuously directed at Q, the curse kept advancing and making him weaker. 

Both soldiers noticed, but they kept fighting as hard as they could until they heard the doors opening behind them, followed by a hawk’s cry. Archimedes swooped in and yanked the staff away from the warlock’s hands before flying out the window.

“Yes!” Q cried happily, smiling as he watched the animal disappear into the distance before turning back towards Silva. He stunned him with a powerful spell, using the last bit of remaining energy he had before he allowed his weight to carry him down to his knees.

James glanced at him knowing he had to take out Silva before the curse could take out Q. He ran towards him using his sword to parry the weak spells directed at him. Without his staff, Silva’s spells were but party tricks. The blond grabbed the warlock by his shirt and hit him on the face with the sword’s pummel before dropping him and kicking him as hard as he could.

“Bond!” Alec called from Q’s side as the young man coughed harshly and a thin line of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

Silva laughed when he saw the state the sorcerer was in, shaking his head and looking up at James with his dead blue eyes. “It’s too late for him. You can’t save him, James.”

The soldier grit his teeth, gripping his sword’s golden hilt tighter before suddenly stabbing through the warlock’s heart. “We’ll see about that.” He snarled in response, letting go of the sword to rush back to Q’s side. “Hey.” He said softly, kneeling next to him and running his fingers through the young man’s dark locks. “You’ll be fine. You’re going to be okay.” 

He looked at his hands and frowned when he realised that the curse marks were still there. ”Is he dead?” He asked Alec, who got up and went to take a look to make sure before nodding. “It should have worked…” James murmured, looking at Q. “Why didn’t it work?”

The sorcerer reached up and cupped his cheek, swallowing hard. “Doesn’t matter now.” He said softly.

“What are you talking about? It does matter! This can’t be over!” James hissed, shaking his head as tears threatened to form in his eyes.

“James…” Q winced, gritting his teeth for a moment. “It doesn’t. We did it. Vauxhall is free… you have to… you have to tell Mallory.”

Bond was slowly starting to realise where it was all heading. He listened in silence and nodded, holding Q close to his body and trying his best to make him comfortable.

“I love you” Q whispered, smiling softly at him.

James looked down into his eyes and swallowed hard, feeling a knot form in his throat. “I love you too, Q.”

He could feel him slipping through his fingers like running water in a stream and all he wanted was to hold him tightly and beg him to stay.

“James?” Alec murmured quietly, making him look up. “I think I know… part of Silva is still alive. Part of his magic anyway.”

“What?” Bond frowned deeply. “What are you talking about? How?”

Alec sighed quietly and gestured at himself. “I’m not supposed to be here. We both know it.” 

There was a moment of silence between the two as they both realised and accepted what had to happen. James nodded slowly and took Alec’s dagger when the soldier offered it to him with a small smile. “It’s okay.”

Bond laid Q down and kissed his forehead before getting up and walking over to Alec, standing face to face with him. The Fallen soldier stepped forwards and embraced him tightly, only letting out a soft grunt when he felt the sharp dagger slide between his ribs. The opaque layer on his eyes cracked like glass before his entire body turned to ashes, leaving behind only a soft whisper. “Thank you.”

Q suddenly drew a sharp breath, filling his lungs with air before he started coughing. James swallowed hard, taking a moment to process what had just happened before he moved back to his side, kneeling next to him and wrapping an arm around him. “Is it gone?” He asked softly, looking down at his hands and arms and finding them clear from the curse at last. 

“Yes.” Q couldn’t help chuckling weakly, resting his head against James’s chest. “Yeah…”

The soldier wrapped his arms around him and pulled his closer, as the sorcerer wrapped his arm around the exhausted blond’s waist. “It’s over. We won.”

The young man nodded quietly, shutting his eyes tightly and listening to the sound of James’ heart beating steadily. “Yeah… yeah.”

The two stayed in the throne room, sitting on the cold and dirty floor while holding each other tightly and whispering words of comfort until the rest of their army had made their way into the city to finally take it back, once and for all.


	14. Plans for the Future

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The soldier smirked to himself and turned back to Eve, who was laughing softly. “Is everything ready?”
> 
> She nodded in response and gestured around them. “We just need our King.”

* * *

“Stop fiddling with that.”

“It itches!”

“Don’t you have a spell for that?”

“A spell for the itchiness or to make it less itchy?”

“What?”

“What are you two going on about this time?” Moneypenny asked as she approached the Commander of the King’s Guard and the Court’s Sorcerer, dressed in her finest gown for the coronation of Vauxhall’s new king.

It had been almost two months since the battle had been fought and won at the capital and all that time had been spent cleaning up the city and fixing it up so the people could start returning to their homes and workplaces.

Q had played a big part, after all, getting rid of two dragon carcasses was not an easy job without magic. He had decided to stay in Vauxhall after all, seeing as James would be taking up the position of Commander of the King’s guard once again, and the kingdom needed someone to keep it safe from magical threats.

“Nothing.” The young man replied, tugging at the stiff collar of his emerald coat until James playfully slapped his hand away. “Oi!”

The soldier smirked to himself and turned back to Eve, who was laughing softly. “Is everything ready?”

She nodded in response and gestured around them. “We just need our King.”

After they had told Mallory about his family tree and how he was supposed to become the new King of Vauxhall, he had insisted on keeping Eve as his second-in-command, giving her the position of advisor, which she now shared with Tanner, who was thankfully found alive and well down at the dungeons about two days after repairs on the castle began.

The borders were open once again and people from all over the kingdom and abroad were invited to the ceremony to celebrate Vauxhall’s new beginning and their triumph over Silva’s dark forces.

“Here he comes.” Q hummed, nodding towards the door and discreetly reaching to take James’ hand before looking back at him with a wide grin. Archimedes rubbed himself against their feet while purring. He had been the hero of the battle and everyone in the kingdom liked the cat, so much so that whenever anyone saw the wizard, they asked about the cat and offered him treats and gifts. And of course let him in anywhere, including important ceremonies like that one. The same tailor that had confectioned Q’s brightly coloured coat, had even offered to make the cat a matching bow.

James smiled and looked at the bespectacled man while the ceremony began and Mallory stepped into the Great Hall “So…”

“Yes?” Q hummed, meeting his gaze.

“Have you considered my proposal?” The soldier asked with a hint of nervousness in his voice.

“As a matter of fact, I have.” Q answered, turning to look back at Mallory.

“And?”

“The answer is no.” He hummed.

James furrowed his eyebrows deeply. “No?”

The sorcerer looked back at him and couldn’t help but laugh softly. He walked over to the blond and cupped his cheeks, making him look into his eyes. “Of course I’ll marry you, you idiot.” He said softly, leaning in and pressing his lips to James’ as he kissed him lovingly for a moment or two before pulling away. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a King to crown.”

James smirked, keeping his arms wrapped tightly around the sorcerer. “Don’t think I’ll let you get away with that.” He murmured softly, making Q blush lightly.

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” Q chuckled softly as James finally let him go and pecked his cheek one more time before rushing to Mallory’s side.

“Congratulations?” Eve smirked, crossing her arms over her chest as she watched James in amusement.

James winked playfully at her. “We’d better start planning.” As he made eye contact with Q across the hall, his voice popped up inside his head.

‘ _ One ceremony at a time, James. One ceremony at a time...` _


End file.
